J LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 
* ^ }■ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. J> 



IX 






M 



GOLDEN MEMORIES 



OF 



AN EARNEST LIFE. 



A BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING : 

TOGETHER WITH SELECTIONS FROM 

HIS POETICAL COMPOSITIONS AND PROSE WRITINGS. 

COMPILED BY HIS SISTER, 

R. AUGUSTA WHITING. 

INTRODUCTION 
By REV. J. M:. PEEBLES. 



His years, 'tis true, were few; 
His life was long. 

We live in deeds, not years ; 
In thoughts, not breaths. 



BOSTON: 
WILLIAM WHITE AND COMPANY, 

" Banner of Light" Office, >v 

No. 158 Washington Street. 

1872. 



I— * 









.■*•*** 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, 

By R. AUGUSTA WHITING, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 
19 Spring Lane, 



TO THE 

SPIRITUALISTS OF AMERICA, 

WHOSE CAUSE HE SERVED THROUGH LIFE AND WITH HIS LATEST 

STRENGTH; TO THE MUSIC-LOVING WORLD THAT CLAIMED 

HIS FELLOWSHIP; TO THE FRIENDS WHO LOVED 

HIM; AND TO THE LOVERS OF FREE 

THOUGHT AND FREE SPEECH 

EVERYWHERE, 



jjb §rief Pemorial-^etorir, 



THE LIFE-STORY OF A FIRM AND CONSISTENT ADVOCATE OF THE 

SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND RELIGION OF SPIRITUALISM; 

A TUNEFUL SOUL, A FAITHFUL FRIEND, AND 

RESOLUTE DEFENDER OF PRINCIPLE 

UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, 

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
BY THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



Despite well-established custom, I would willingly waive 
the privilege of delaying the reader with prefatory remarks, 
were it not that I desire to acknowledge courtesies re- 
ceived, and state a few explanatory facts, for which there 
seems no other suitable place. 

Soon after the close of my brother's earth-life, I began 
to be urged by friends ^— visible and invisible — to under- 
take the task of preparing for the press a resume of his 
life and labors. I was assured, by those who best knew 
him and the world, that a record of his career and peculiar 
experiences could not fail to be of interest, not only to the 
many who knew him in his public capacity, but to a large 
class of minds who seek to learn concerning unusual phases 
of life and mental phenomena. Circumstances had rendered 
me the most — if not the only — suitable person to per- 
form this labor. While, therefore, I felt keenly the re- 
sponsibility of the undertaking, I felt equally that which 
would rest upon me should I withhold aught that might 
tend in the slightest degree to benefit the world or more 
deeply enshrine his memory. 

I accepted the task, and arranged my material as time 
would permit, but was not able to enter upon the work 
until January, 1872. Simultaneously occurred my en- 
trance upon the rostrum ; but, for the succeeding four 
months, the most of my time was given to this work, and 
also the intervals between lectures since that time. 

My material has been ample, — consisting of a journal 

5 



6 PREFACE. 

extending from 1852 to 1862, and complete files of letters 
from the latter date down. To this is added my own 
perfect knowledge of his life during later years, and copi- 
ous data furnished by other parties, whom it would be 
impossible to mention in detail, but to all of whom I desire 
to offer my sincere thanks. 

I have abridged as much as possible, and generally 
preferred to relate facts without note or comment. Of 
course a sketch of this kind can contain but a very small 
portion of all the events of a life, and the selection of those 
most prominent is no easy task when so much must 
remain untold. I have endeavored, as far as possible, to 
confine myself to the principal events of his public life, giv- 
ing only those of a private character which had a mold- 
ing influence upon his public career. For the rest, — the 
rich joys and deep sorrows of the inner life, which words 
are too poor to hold, — they belong to those who loved 
him, to the friends who knew him true, and any attempt 
at their portrayal would not only be vain, but needlessly 
expose to public gaze matters sacred to private life. 

For the frequent mention of myself in the course of the 
narrative I have no apology to offer ; for, from that far- 
off day when he took me in his arms and soothed my 
baby grief, to that other day when mine sustained his 
failing strength, the fibers of our lives have been so inter- 
twined, that it is impossible to entirely separate the closely- 
woven threads. The faint outline contained in Chapter II. 
will perhaps explain this as well as I am able to do. It is 
for this reason that I have chosen not to attempt to 
conceal my personality, lest in so doing I should be guilty 
of a mere refinement of egotism, and have only claimed 
the reportorial privilege of alluding to myself in the third 
person in relating those events which occurred previous to 
my own remembrance. 



PREFACE. 1 

As the major part of the narrative was written at our 
home (Albion, Mich.), I have maintained that stand-point 
throughout, — although a portion has been compiled else- 
where, — during a lecture engagement at Albany, N. Y., a 
visit to the town of our birth, and a stay of some weeks in 
this city. 

I wish to add a few words in reference to the contents 
of Part Second. The poems are not presented as models 
of metrical composition, but as purely improvisations. 
They were, without exceptiou, written entirely impromptu, 
and as rapidly as hand could move a pencil, and were 
never either corrected or copied by him. I have chosen, 
however, to present them entirely unchanged, with the ex- 
ception of supplying obvious omissions. I do not consider 
them equal in literary merit to his usual spoken improvisa- 
tions ; nor did he, but always complained of the impos- 
sibility of writing fast enough to catch the lines as they 
traversed his thought, and consequent blunders in tran- 
scription. It was partly for this reason that of late years 
he had almost abandoned the attempt to write anything 
save the words of his songs. Those were, for the most 
part, as I have stated elsewhere, composed simultaneously 
with the music, while sitting at the instrument, and written 
down from memory afterward. 

Those comprised under the heading " Published Songs" 
are included here by permission of the several publishers. 
They are issued in sheet music form, as follows : — 

Groups I. and II., by J. L. Peters, New York, N. Y. 
Groups III. and IV., by Whittemore, Swan & Stephens, 

Detroit, Mich. 
Group V., by C. J. Whitney & Co., Detroit, Mich. 
Group VI., by J. S. White & Co., Marshall, Mich. 
Group VII. will be found in the " Spiritual Harp." 



8 PREFACE. 

I have hesitated whether I should include here the 
words of two songs which were not entirely his composi- 
tion, but have decided to do so, with this explanation, in 
order that the list may be complete. I allude to the piece 
entitled " 0, tell me not of Fields of Glory," which was 
written by me at his request, after he had composed the 
music, and that called " The Outcast," the substance of 
which was furnished him by a lady friend, and by him 
adapted to music, with the addition of the refrain and the 
name, Evyrr Allynn. 

Under the head of " Unpublished Songs," I have gath- 
ered a few poems, the music for which was never completed, 
or has been lost. Besides these, he has left a number of 
complete compositions, which I contemplate arranging for 
publication uniform with his other music, as soon as time 
will permit, and which, therefore, are not included here 
for obvious reasons. 

As I take leave of my completed task, it is with the 
earnest hope that the result may not wholly disappoint the 
expectations of those by whose solicitation and encourage- 
ment it was undertaken, however much it may fall short 
of my ideal of what might be compiled in the way of an 
interesting and instructive narrative — a worthy tribute to 
his memory. 

It may fail to command any general attention, any 
marked recognition at the hands of the public ; yet I dare 
dream that, at least, many will gladly welcome it for the 
sake of the pleasant memories it evokes, and, so dreaming, 
am content. 

R. Augusta Whiting. 

Boston, July 16, 1872. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Introduction 15 

PART FIRST. 
BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 
CHAPTER I. 

Birth and Lineage. — Does Blood tell ? 25 

CHAPTER II. 

Childhood. — Natural Spiritual Sight. — Brother and Sister. — 
First Bereavement. — The Mystic Tie. . . . . .30 

CHAPTER III. 

School-days. — Temporary Withdrawal of the Clairvoyant Gift. — 
Consequent Skepticism 38 

CHAPTER IV. 

Removal to the West. — Return of the opened Vision. — Intro- 
duction to Spiritualism. — Wonderful Mediumistic Experiences. 
— Debut as a Public Lecturer at the Age of eighteen. . . 42 

CHAPTER V. 

First Eastern Tour, and Trips through the West. — Incidents. — 
Media met with. — Close of first Year of Public Life. — The 
Compact. 55 

CHAPTER VI. 

Second Appearance in Boston. — The Harvard Professors. — Pro- 
fessor Felton selects Subjects for Improvisation. — Extracts 
from the Boston Press. — First Trip to the far South. — Return 

Home in April, 1858. 64 

9 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

In New England again. — Signs of Progress. — Recall Home in 
January, 1859. — Sickness and Death of his Father. — Sorrow 
and Consolation. 79 

CHAPTER VIII. 

A Trip begun with strange Experiences, and prematurely ended. 

— The Revenge of outraged Nature. — The Death-trance and 
weary Journey Home. — Convalescence. — Debut as an Author. 83 

CHAPTER IX. 

The new Spirit Guide. — The two Portraits. — Removal to Albion. 

— Early Acquaintance with Dr. Slade. — Debate with Rev. Jo- 
seph Jones, at Decatur, Mich. — Kentucky in War Time (Sep- 
tember, 1861).— Legally ordained July, 1862. ... 87 

CHAPTER X. 

As a Composer of Music. — Publication of the first eight of his 
Songs. — Debate with an Adventist at Grand Rapids, Mich. — 
Eastward again (March, 1864). — Spirit Pictures. . . .97 

CHAPTER XI. 

Chicago Spiritual Convention of 1864. — His Position therein. — 
Political Views. — Lectures in Chicago during the Session of the 
Democratic National Convention. — Trip through Canada. — 
The Campaign of 1864. — First Appearance in the political Are- 
na. — Kentucky in November. — Not captured by Guerrillas. — 
Abandoned Projects . . 103 

CHAPTER XII. 

An unwelcome Theme. — Enemies, and how they were baffled. — 
A Glimpse behind the Scenes. — Snares that could not entrap, 
and Poison that could not slay. — Powers mundane and supra- 
mundane Ill 

CHAPTER XIII. 

New Successes in the East. — Washington and the South after the 
War. — Lectures in Cincinnati and Louisville. — Persons met 
with and Things seen. — J. M. Peebles and the " Western De- 
partment of the Banner of Light." — Contemplated Debate at 
St. Johns, Mich. —History thereof. . . . . .122 



CONTENTS. 11 

CHAPTER XIV. 

1867, 1868. — Washington again. —Dissolution of the " Thirty- 
ninth Congress." — Dr. Ferguson and other Spiritual Celebri- 
ties. — Buffalo, N. Y. — Rochester and Elder Miles Grant. — 
Louisville, Ky. — Sun-stroke. — In the Sick room. — J. O. Bar- 
rett and the "Spiritual Harp." — State Spiritualist Association 
at Jackson, January, 1868. — Alcinda Wilhelm Slade. . . 139 

CHAPTER XV. 

Buffalo. — Abraham James. — Genesee Conference. — Home. — 
The " New Constitution." — Its Defeat. — A Pleasure Trip, with 
Variations. — Cape Cod Spiritualist Camp Meeting. — Musical 
Data. — Presidential Campaign of 1868. — His Participation 
and Popularity therein. — At the great Mass Meetings of this 
State. — Final Triumph at Jackson. — Last great Effort upon 
the political Rostrum. — Physical Exhaustion. — Another De- 
bate which did not come off. . 150 

CHAPTER XVI. 

1869, 1870. — Last Visits to New England, Philadelphia, and Louis- 
ville. — The last Birthday. — A New Year's Gift, and its Useful- 
ness. — Days of Suffering. 159 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Feebleness of Body and Strength of Spirit. — Last Lectures at 
Cincinnati, Ohio, and at Port Huron, Farmington, and Milford, 
Mich. — Home and Rest. — On the Threshold of Eternity. — 
Farewell Address. — The great Transition. — Funeral Services 
at Albion, and Honors to his Memory elsewhere. . . . 167 

TO WHICH ARE APPENDED 

Selections from Press Obituaries. 178 

Memorial Sermon of J. M. Peebles, at Louisville. . . . 186 

Memorial Poem, by Mrs. L. E. Bailey. . . . . 194 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Concluding Words. — His Lectures and Improvisations. — Favor- 
ite Subjects , , . .196 



12 



CONTENTS. 



PART SECOND. 

EARLY POEMS. 



Music. . . . 

Pro Libertate. . * . . 

In Memoriam, ..... 

O, Think of Me ! 

WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 

1855-1857. 
Float on ! . 
I Loved. . . . . . 

The Fount of Light. .... 

The Star of Truth, . . 

True Love. 

Happiness. ...... 

A Legend of Earth and Air. 

She was a Rose. ..... 

Hope. ... . 

FRAGMENTARY POEMS. 
The Good Old Days. .... 

Ye Mill and ye Wheels. . . . . 

From Hope to Knowledge. .... 

Album Lines. ...... 

The Feast of Belshazzar. . 

UNPUBLISHED SONGS. 

The Banner of Peace. . . . . 

Strike boldly, and Fear not ! 
Come, bright Menona ! 
Welcome to Peace (1865). 

PUBLISHED SONGS. 
Group I. " Three Heart Offerings/ 
Lena de L'Orme. ..... 

By the Side of the Murmuring Stream. 

Touch the Lute gently. .... 



PAGE 

205 
206 
207 
208 



210 
211 
213 
215 
216 
221 
227 
238 
241 



244 
253 
255 
25Q 
257 



259 
261 

262 
263 



265 
26Q 
267 



CONTENTS. 13 

Group II. " Sparkling Gems." 

Adieu, Leonore. . . . . . . 268 

Leoline. ........ 269 

You well know, my Beloved. . . . . . 270 

Land of the so-called Dead. ..... 270 

Maid of Glenore. . . . . . . 271 

Group III. " Flowers from the West." 

O, hear my parting Sigh. ..... 273 

Medora. ........ 274 

O, tell me not of Fields of Glory. . . . .275 

The Wind is in the Chestnut Bough. . . . .276 

Pride of Elsinore. ....... 277 

Group IV. " Golden Memories." 

Whene'er in Sleep the Eyelids close. .... 278 

Sweet be thy Dreams, Alida. . 279 

Group V. 

Spirit of Light, Love, and Beauty. .... 280 

Aminta Mia. ....... 281 

Lela Trefaine. . . . . . . .281 

Group VI. 

Evyrr Allynn ; or, The Outcast. ..... 283 

Old Doctor Bonds. . . . . . - . 284 

Group VII. 

Strike the Harp in Nature's Praise. . 285 

Waiting, only Waiting. ..... 287 



ABSTRACT OF LECTURE 

Delivered before the Young Men's Lecture Association at Mar- 
shall, Michigan, February 25, 1870, on "The Ideal and the 
Keal." ........ 289 



INTRODUCTION. 



" Presumptuous skepticism, which rejects facts without examination 
of their truth, is in some respects more injurious than unquestioning 
credulity." — Baron Humboldt, 

"Before experience itself can be used with advantage, there is one 
preliminary step to make, which depends wholly on ourselves : it is 
the absolute dismissal and clearing the mind of all prejudice, from 
whatever source arising, and the determination to stand and fall by 
the result of a direct appeal to facts in the first instance, and a strict 
logical deduction from them afterward." — Sir John Herschel. 

" Spiritualism is at once a science and a religion, based upon 
tangible fads.* 1 — Prof. S. B. Brittan. 

"Behold how they loved him." — Gospel of John. 



Human life is twofold, — physical existence and spiritual 
consciousness, — and history is its story. 

In the University of Strasburg there flourished in the 
early part of this century a worthy student of nature, who, 
during thirty years of toil, collected and classified a museum 
of facts. The industry was admirable ; continental schol- 
ars were grateful ; but this gathering, this numbering of 

items, these labeled skeletons, strung with nicest precision, 

15 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

did not constitute history. The inspiration of living genius 
was wanting. 

Facts are as paints and brushes to artists. They sym- 
bolize ideal truths, and, if rightly applied, picture real life. 
Instead of being considered as isolated phenomena, facts 
must be studied in connection with their causes. They 
must be resolved into groups, and put in relational order. 
Then, master minds, tracing the consequences that uni- 
formly follow, may reach and announce logical conclu- 
sions. This is properly the method of inductive study, 
and relates to those physical manifestations connected with 
the science of Spiritism. 

Traversing in thought the mystical river of time, it is 
clearly seen that humanity is but an aggregate of indi- 
viduals, and that biography, though a record of personal 
motive and action, is fraught with almost infinite conse- 
quences. 

Seeing is knowing. Eulogy and invective are equally 
blind. To fully measure, to really profit by the life of 
another, we must grasp the hand, hear the voice, feel the 
heart beat, watch the ebb and flow of fortune, suffer the 
stings of partial defeat ; and, considering the rapid march 
of the truth mutually loved, join with fellow-pilgrims also 
in peans of gladness. 

Intimacy of this kind not only conduces to happiness 
and fraternal sympathy, but, giving opportunities for genu- 
ine insight into the mysterious currents of being, it unrolls 
the life-leaves of character and reveals the man. 

These were just the privileges granted us by our neighbor, 



INTR OD UC TION. 1 1 

friend, and co-worker in the cause of Spiritualism, A. B. 
Whiting, while a resident of Michigan. 

Each individual is not only a radiating center of force, 
but a spirit — a conscious spirit, now existing in harmony 
with the lyrical principles of the universe, though encased 
in a mortal body. And it is a proposition too plain to re- 
quite proof, that wherever the spirit or mind can reach, 
there it can observe ; and wherever it can observe, there it 
can induct ; and wherever it can induct, there it can dis- 
cover. This Baconian train of reasoning, made practical, 
bridged the two worlds, — the to-day and the to-morrow of 
existence, — leaving the gates of immortality ajar. ' Long- 
fellow, aflame with the inspiration of spirit communion, 
sings that 

" From the world of spirits there descends 
A bridge of light connecting it with this." 

As Protestantism in Luther's time was a protest against 
Roman Catholicism, so Spiritualism is a protest against 
this puritanical Protestantism, that constructs creeds, 
cramps the intellect, crushes the soul's aspirations, and 
throws a vail of doubt over a future conscious existence, by 
denying the reality of present converse with the world of 
spirits. 

Protestant theology, though voiced from thousand pul- 
pits, has proved to be the barren fig tree of the eighteenth 
and nineteenth centuries. Angels and advanced souls in 
the heavens, seeing the utter failure, initiated the spiritual 

dispensation. The opening cycle, recognizing the mes- 
2 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

sage, the cradle, the manger-home, was in Hydesville, N. Y., 
a place of more note than Nazareth, in Syria. 

If " holy women of Palestine," mediumistic and intui- 
tive, were the first to announce, "He is not here, but 
risen/ 1 good and true women in the morning hour of this 
spiritual era were the first to devise the method for trans- 
lating these telegraphic tickings into readable language, 
revealing the progress and conscious blessedness that ob- 
tain in the love-lands of the angels ! 

Modern Spiritualism, complementing, differs from that of 
Jesus and John only in the superior number of its manifes- 
tations, in the increasing variety of its marvels, the better 
understanding of its philosophy, the general concession of 
its naturalness, and its wider dissemination through the 
different grades of society. 

The rapid diffusion of the divine principles involved in 
Spiritualism has astonished conservatives. Heaven-born 
and angel-guarded, it already occupies an enviable posi- 
tion. The march of the movement has been marvelous ; 
it is cosmopolitan ; its banner floats beneath all skies, and 
its sun of inspiration illumines the most distant islands of 
earth. English thinkers have admitted it into the fold of the 
sciences. Professor William Crookes, an eminent chemist, 
Fellow of the Royal Society, and editor of the "London Quar- 
terly Journal of Science/'' has, in a recent issue, an extensive 
review of Robert Dale Owen's "Debatable Land/' under 
the heading, "Notices of Scientific Works. 1 ' The dis- 
tinguished English naturalist and writer upon the Dar- 
winian philosophy, A. B. Wallace, treating of the 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

" Spiritualism " in the " Debatable Land/' says, " It is cer- 
tainly, as Mr. Owen maintains, a science of itself; a 'new 
science, and one of the most overwhelming importance in 
its bearings upon philosophy, history and religion. n 
These and other admissions of learned men on both conti- 
nents mark an era in our progress, putting " Spiritualism " 
squarely before the world as a science ! 

" The promise still outruns the deed — 
The tower, but not the spire, we build.'' 

Among the faithful, energetic workmen, who, early en- 
tering the vineyard, aided to bring about this recognition 
of Spiritualism as a science, this public acknowledgment 
of its moral worth and beauty as a mighty redemptive 
power in the world, was A. B. Whiting, now risen and 
robed in the vestures of immortality. The blood of a noble 
ancestry flowed in his veins. He was born a seer. In the 
sunny years of childhood he was considered strange, be- 
cause he saw angels and conversed with the gods. This 
juvenile clairvoyance had much to do in shaping his future. 
It was to him a light from heaven. Immortal teachers, in 
lute-like words of promise, prophesied a career before him 
of great usefulness. While the flush of early youth was 
upon his cheek, few fully comprehended him. Mystics 
given to glimpsing visions delight to be alone. In a 
higher sense, media, as stars in constellations, are never 
alone. Converse with celestial visitants bears but little re- 
lation to solitude. 

Commencing his public labors as a trance-speaker some- 



20 INTRODUCTION 

time during the year 1855, he continued in the field, under 
the inspiration of his efficient spirit guides till his transla- 
tion to the Better Land, winning laurels and golden 
opinions as an improvisatore, speaker, public debater, and 
poet. The songs that gave such zest to his services were 
original words and music. 

As a lecturer upon the rise and fall of civilizations, and 
upon ecclesiastical history, touching its relations to re- 
ligious persecution on the one hand, and Spiritualism upon 
the other, he had no equal upon the rostrum. Sentences 
dropped from his lips like pearls, chaining and charming 
the multitude. His controlling intelligence when speaking 
was Giovanni Farini, an Italian poet and cardinal, flour- 
ishing early in the seventeenth century. Another of his 
ministering spirits was an ancient wise man of the East, or, 
as he termed himself, "the old man of the mountains" — 
Ab-del-Murett-el-Zuleke. When under the direct influ- 
ence of this eccentric sage, who passed to the higher exist- 
ence early in the twelfth century, Mr. Whiting was truly 
a prophet, changed and transfigured. This is the nature of 
positive spirit influence ; it affects, fashions, molds media, 
more or less, into the image of those who pour upon them 
currents of baptismal magnetism. Conscious of this, aware 
of the fountain from whence flowed his spiritual strength 
and inspiration, our noble co-laborer awarded the honor, 
like a true man, to his attending guides. 

For the monument of Thermopylae, where fell the brave 
three hundred, Leonidas wrote this epitaph : " Stranger, go 
and tell in Lacedaemon that we fell here in defense of her 



INTRODUCTION, 21 

laws." With cause for greater gratitude, let us tell to 
future time the story of our media and comrade's deeds in 
lecture-fields, with a monument that shall say, " Pil- 
grims journeying to that bourn beyond the crystal river , go 
and proclaim through the limits of the land, that we, soldiers 
of truth, — we, media for the manifestations, — by over-work, 
sacrificed our lives, and found premature grooves, in the de- 
fense of the principles of the spiritual philosophy." 

What matters it though no flinty obelisk point to 
heaven ; though no broken column symbolize a fading 
mortality ; though no sculptured rose, drooping on its 
shattered stem, or gorgeous pile, indicate the place of the 
changing dust ? There are hallowed memories and blissful 
recollections of our loved, that necessarily live and bloom 
in perpetual loveliness, live when marble pillars have crum- 
bled to their primitive atoms. Representative men, and 
the principles they elucidate, are on earth immortal. 

With a thinking public, A. B. Whiting was a favorite ; 
with intimate friends, he was cordially beloved. Besides 
his mediumship and his music, he had many qualities to 
win esteem. Charitable, candid, and honorable, his his- 
tory is full of instruction and encouragement to others. 
With him friendship was a principle, and honor the true 
badge of loyalty. Deeply do we sympathize with the 
mother, the sister, and the extensive circle of friends and 
admirers. But the Spiritualism of which he was an able 
and eloquent exponent gives us positive assurance that 



22 INTRODUCTION. 

we shall meet him, know him, and love him in the upper 
kingdoms of eternity! 

" O, pale grew the robing that folded the mountain, 
And wrapped its grieved face in a sorrowing spray, 
Exhaled the last heart-drop from Poesy's fountain, 
When he sang with angels, at breaking of day. 

" Be his in Valhalla the throne-room of glory, 
The scepter of poets, the crown he has won, 
The purple of spirits ; and ours be the story, 

The sweet rhythmed life which at morning was done." 

J. M. Peebles. 
Hammonten, New Jersey. 



PART I. 



BIOGRAPHY. 



23 



BIOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER I. 

BIRTH AND LINEAGE. — DOES BLOOD TELL? 

The month of December, 1835, was a time long re- 
membered in the annals of New England as the cold 
December. On the 12th of the month a heavy snow- 
storm had fallen, making the roads impassable in many- 
places until the labor of men and teams had cut away 
the huge drifts. The cold was intense, and had been 
so continuous that it is chronicled (vide " Hill's Me- 
teorological Index") as an unusual circumstance that 
"on the 14th it thawed a little in the sun." On the 
morning of that 14th of December, in the village of 
East Abington, Mass., the subject of this biography made 
his entrance into a cold world in the most literal sense. 
But a warm welcome awaited the little stranger in the 
home he came to gladden, a home of which he was the sun- 
shine and joy all his days, and over whose desolate hearth 
his loving spirit still watches from the eternal hills. 

The town of Abington, which is situated upon the Old 
Colony Railway, midway between Boston and Plymouth, 
was also the birthplace of both his parents. His father, 
Albert Whiting, was born in 1803, and during his youth 
and early manhood saw something of travel and adven- 
ture, both by sea and land, acquiring thereby broader 
views of life than were common in his time. He was a 

25 



26 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

man of few words, but a close thinker ; and when he did 
speak, his words, few and well chosen, always carried 
weight. Pre-eminently calm and gentle in all the rela- 
tions of life, few persons ever saw him moved to anger ; 
yet this not on account of any lack of sensitiveness, but 
from a natural, inherent power of self-control, which is 
a strongly-marked trait in all the members of his family. 
Indeed, this peculiar power, together with accurate and 
scholarly habits of thought, is clearly traceable through 
successive generations back even to that remote German 
ancestor, who, seeking in the then wilds of Virginia an 
asylum for free thought, brought with him all the lore 
and culture of a great German university, while leaving 
behind his baronial title as so much dross. The mother 
of Albert Whiting was a woman of superior mental en- 
dowments ; and from her family he inherited the musi- 
cal talent which he, in turn, transmitted to his children. 

Of her, further mention will be made in the course of 
this narrative, as she lived to an advanced age, and 
formed a prominent feature in the early mental land- 
scape of her grandson. 

Albert Whiting was the eldest of five children, of 
whom the other four, two brothers and two sisters, sur- 
vive him and still reside in Eastern Massachusetts. Oh 
March 9, 1835, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Rachel Bennet, then of East Bridgewater, she having 
removed from her native town on her mother's contract- 
ing a second marriage, with Mr. David French, of East 
Bridgewater. This lady, the mother of the subject of 
this biography, was of English descent, and of a family 
allied by blood and affinity to many of the noblest 
names of English history ; noble, not alone in rank and 
title, but in the true nobility of intellect and culture. 



BIR TH AND LINE A GE. 27 

Such names as Marlborough, Witherell, North, Guil- 
ford, and Dudley, need no prefix to render them illustri- 
ous, least of all that brave old Dudley, who, himself ac- 
cused of sorcery on account of his great learning and 
spiritual gifts, not only signally discomfited his ac- 
cusers in his own case, but, although then advanced in 
years, took a long and tedious journey, traveling night 
and day, in order to defend certain persons who were 
on trial for the alleged crime of witchcraft, causing their 
triumphant acquittal, and by his eloquence producing 
such an effect that that was the last trial for witchcraft 
that ever disgraced the soil of England. 

Rachel Bennet was born in 1801, and was the fourth 
of six children, of whom she is now the sole survivor, 
although her brothers and sisters, with one exception, 
attained to an age beyond the average of human life. 
Indeed, her mother's family, the Gardners, were remark- 
able for longevity, her mother reaching her ninetieth 
year, and her maternal grandfather his ninety-second. 
Her paternal grandmother also lived to an advanced 
age, a fair and stately lady, a little proud withal, and 
devoted to the memory of the husband who, in the 
prime of manhood, laid his life upon his country's altar 
during the dark clays of the revolution. Her eldest son, 
George, the father of Rachel Bennet, also died in middle 
life, having served through the war of 1812, and re- 
turned home only to battle a few j r ears with consump- 
tion, and then pass tranquilly on to that future life 
wdiich none of his race ever feared or dreaded, and of 
which many of them were able to catch faint glimpses 
while yet dwelling in the flesh. His daughter Rachel, 
who was about twenty years of age at the time of his 
death, had inherited to a great extent his mental organ- 



28 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

ism and acute spiritual perceptions ; and it was feared 
that she would also develope the same consumptive ten- 
dency. She had been slender from childhood, and now, 
worn out with watching and anxiety, her symptoms be- 
come so alarming to her friends that it was thought im- 
peratively necessary to remove her from the keen air of 
the seaboard for a time. Accordingly she was sent to 
reside with an uncle in the western part of the state, a 
long journey in those days of stage-coaches, about equal 
to a trip across the continent now. There she remained 
two years, growing well and strong among the hills of 
Hampshire, and returned to Abington rejoicing in a 
bodily vigor which she had never known before. Three 
years later, on her mother's second marriage, as before 
mentioned, she accompanied her to her new home in 
East Bridgewater. Seven years passed on, and, though 
more than one good and honorable man would gladly 
have shared with her his home and name, she hearkened 
to the inward voice, which bade her be true to her own 
soul, and kept on the even tenor of her way, untroubled 
by that silly dread of the title of "old maid," which 
drives so many girls to loveless wedlock. 

It was during a visit to her oldest brother, then re- 
siding in Abington, that she made the acquaintance of 
Albert Whiting. Both were in the prime of life ; both 
of that noble and engaging presence, which, springing 
not from mere physical beauty, but from something with- 
in and beyond, seldom fails to attract attention and win 
regard. Their fathers had been friends in youth ; each 
found in the mind of the other many points of sympa- 
thy and mental kinship ; and the mutual interest thus 
awakened grew and strengthened into a firm and en- 
during affection, that true conjugal love which neither 



BIR TH AND LINE A GE. 29 

time, nor sorrow, nor the chill waves of the shadowy 
river, can change or dim. They were married on the 
9th of March, 1835, and their oldest child, the subject 
of this biography, was born the December following. 
He was named Albert Bennet Whiting, but in the 
family was usually called by his second name alone. 

Born of such lineage, and of parents so truly wedded, 
is it wonderful that he should have possessed a massive 
intellect, a refined spiritual nature, a warm and loving 
heart ? Does blood tell ? Not in that narrow sense in 
which the blue blood of royalty has been quoted to sus- 
tain the divine right of kings, but in the broad phil- 
osophical sense which seeks for each result a cause. 
Can a stream rise higher than its fountain ? and, if the 
source be muddy, will not the stream be, to a certain 
extent, impure also ? We know that in the career of 
nations, races, and civilizations, history constantly re- 
peats itself. Does it not also repeat itself in families, 
in the reproduction of certain well-marked traits, char- 
acteristics, and capacities, even to the remotest genera- 
tions? Is there not, therefore, a philosophical reason 
for the existence in the human mind of a certain pride 
in and respect for honorable ancestry, entirely apart 
from and independent of the merely adventitious cir- 
cumstances of rank and fortune ? We have been taught 
that pride of birth is a sign of weakness and folly, and I 
grant with truth, if it be founded upon mere outward 
distinctions ; but I believe there is in every soul an in- 
born feeling of respect for the memory of one's ances- 
tors. This is by the Chinese exaggerated into worship, 
and in many European countries is little less. As 
Americans, we have gone to the opposite extreme, and 
attempted, in our boasted equality, to make every per- 



30 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

son look upon his own ancestors in exactly the same 
light as another's ; which is no more natural, or possible, 
than for us to look upon other people's brothers and 
sisters as we do upon our own ; nor does the fact, that 
we do not and can not, detract aught from their worth. 
While, therefore, we concede to all an equal weight in 
the broad scale of humanity, we can not be blind, either 
to those real differences that exist, or to those ideal ones 
which are no less natural ; and we may, without shame, 
confess to that pride of birth, which, being both natural 
and reasonable, is rather to be commended than rebuked, 
and which I, for one, will never disown, 



CHAPTER II. 

CHILDHOOD. — NATURAL SPIRITUAL SIGHT. — BROTHER 
AND SISTER. — FIRST BEREAVEMENT. — THE MYSTIC 
TIE. 

For seven years Albert Bennet remained an only- 
child, his brother Willie being born in 1842, and his only 
sister two years later. It was fortunate for him that it 
was so, for he required the most unremitting care and 
watchfulness of both parents to keep his large and 
active brain from wearing out his frail body. He early 
exhibited a wonderful memory, and startled his mother 
by learning to point out certain letters on the heading 
of a newspaper before he could speak their names. But, 
more alarming than all, he saw people and scenes not 



CHILDHOOD. 31 

visible to other eyes. As soon as he could speak he 
talked about "the people," as he called them, and con- 
tinued to see these spiritual beings all through his child- 
hood. Sometimes, at night especially, his room would 
seem full of them, and he could hear them converse 
with each other about him, and on various subjects. Of 
course, when he spoke of these things he was told to 
hush, that there was "no one there" that it was vapors, 
or something the matter with his eyes or brain. His 
mother, more patient with his oddities than others, 
would say, " Never mind the people ; you will get over 
such sights when you get older. I used to see just 
such things when I was a child." This was small con- 
solation, for he loved his ethereal friends, and never 
feared them, and firmly refused to disbelieve in their 
identity, having the same consciousness of, and faith in, 
their care and protection as he felt toward that of his 
parents. His extreme delicacy of physical constitution 
caused his parents great anxiety, and the best physicians 
gave it as their opinion that he could live but a few 
years, on account of his immense head and slim body. 
One eccentric old doctor said that he "would like to 
have him live, to see what he would make," but that it 
was " impossible for him to see his twelfth year." 

When the child would overhear such remarks, the 
persons making them not supposing he would under- 
stand their purport, it made him very angry, and he 
would say, "I will live, for the people say so." One 
instance I will relate : He had just been examined by 
a celebrated physician, who proceeded to tell his par- 
ents, in the usual dogmatic way, that the child " could 
not possibly live to grow up, and was liable to drop oft 
at any time," when he startled the wise M. D. by ex- 



32 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

claiming, " Dr. , I will live to visit your grave, for 

the man in the gray cloak [a spirit] says so, and he 
knows." (This physician died about fifteen years later, 
and the prophecy was fulfilled.) This is only one of 
many similar incidents which attended his early child- 
hood. 

He was seldom well enough to be sent to school, but 
learned at home, with ease and rapidity, everything that 
was placed before him ; so that, although no effort what- 
ever had been made to hasten his advancement, but rather 
the contrary, yet when he did enter school he was far 
in advance of those of his own age. This fact, together 
with his old manners, made him generally disliked by 
other children, and so increased his isolation from them. 
Upon his little brother he lavished the most unbounded 
affection, and when, as if in answer to his oft-repeated 
wish, a sister, too, was given him, he was perfectly con- 
tent. Devoted to their service, he would spend hours 
amusing "the babies," watching their every motion 
with all the solicitude of a fond grandmother. 

This absorbing employment was of great benefit in 
diverting his mind from books, for which he already 
manifested an undue fondness, and fixing it more upon 
things suitable to his childish years. But soon his little 
brother Willie sickened and died ; and his mind, thus 
early brought face to face with the great mystery of 
death, struggled — as many an older mind has done — 
with all its puny strength, to comprehend the where- 
fore, the great unsolved problem of the ages. Yet, 
though his loving heart was almost broken by the loss 
of his cherished playmate, he did not mourn with the 
noisy demonstrativeness usual to childhood, but with a 
silent, repressed grief, which seemed exceeding pitiful 



CHILDHOOD. 33 

to those who understood him, while casual observers 
said, "He is not old enough to realize his loss." He 
realized more than would have seemed possible to them. 
With a tact and thoughtfulness far beyond his years, he 
strove to divert and console his stricken parents, and 
when the baby sister called in vain for her vanished 
playfellow he was her surest comforter. 

In this fellowship of sorrow there first began to be 
developed between the two children that peculiar and 
mysterious bond of sympathy, which, though probably 
inherent in their mental constitutions, became more strik- 
ingly noticeable in later years — a sort of mystic sixth 
sense, by which the one was enabled to understand the 
thoughts and feelings of the other when the causes of 
those thoughts and feelings were beyond cognizance by 
any ordinary method, and by which any strong emotion 
or desire of the one was inevitably transmitted to the 
other, even at a distance. It is proper to observe, that 
a tie in some respects similar also existed between the 
children and their mother, as regards the transmission 
of any extraordinary mental agitation. I do not pre- 
tend to explain or furnish a reason for these singular 
facts. Such instances have been known to exist in the 
case of twins, and have furnished much food for specu- 
lation, with, I believe, little definite result. We can 
call it mental telegraphy ; we can say that the similarity 
of mental structure, which subsists between minds un- 
der certain circumstances, may link them together by 
an ethereal wire, across which may flash messages from 
soul to soul ; yet the mysterious laws which govern the 
existence, or non-existence, of this intercommunion 
are a sealed book, and the angel who shall break the 
seals hath not yet appeared. 
3 



34 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

Suffice it to say, that the mental relationship between 
this brother and sister was doubtless the same in kind 
as that alluded to as sometimes existing between twins, 
and~ traceable to the same unknown law ; for, despite 
the nine years' difference in age, the resemblance in 
mental organization was in most points complete and 
minute, becoming, however, more strikingly apparent, 
even to themselves, as added years made the disparity 
of age less noticeable. This correspondence grew to be 
so exact, that, when both had arrived at years of matu- 
rity, each could count with the utmost certainty upon the 
opinions and feelings of the other upon any given sub- 
ject, knowing that, the same data being furnished, they 
invariably reached identical conclusions. It should not 
be understood, however, that, with all this generally 
minute resemblance, there were no points of difference 
to determine for each mind a separate and distinct in- 
dividuality. These differences, though few, were, well 
defined, and seemed so arranged that the aptitudes 
which were lacking in one were possessed by the other 
in unusual degree ; thus making, in these respects, the 
one mind the complement of the other, and increasing 
their mutual dependence. 

That between two thus bound by the very law of 
their being there should exist the most unreserved con- 
fidence, the most unquestioning faith, is natural, and in 
the nature of things inevitable ; for, while perfect love 
casteth out all fear, perfect knowledge destroys the 
possibility of doubt, distrust, or misunderstanding. 

I have thought best to give this explanation here, and 
in this general way, rather than more particularly, and 
in the order of time in which we came to understand 
these things, for this reason — that, while the peculiar 



CHILDHOOD, 35 

relationship described as existing between my brother 
and myself necessarily exerted a powerful influence, 
permeating the lives of both, yet this influence was so 
subtile in its character as to defy any attempt to meas- 
ure its extent or define its limits. Hence only gen- 
eralization is possible. 

As children, we, of course, did not know that there 
was anything exceptional in the perfect sympathy which 
we instinctively realized, but supposed the same to exist 
equally between all brothers and sisters. In this view 
/regarded with most sincere pity those little girls who 
were not blessed with a "big brother," while he looked 
no less compassionately upon those unfortunate boys 
who had no "little sister." When observation taught 
us the fallacy of this belief, we concluded, next, that it 
was because we were only two that we loved each other 
more ; but when, to our astonishment and horror, we 
learned that there was not invariably harmony even be- 
tween two, — that this was not the bond of peace, — we 
were puzzled indeed. 

We were told that " good little children should always 
agree," and in the light of that teaching were forced to 
conclude that " good little children" were not so plenty 
as they might be, and, I dare say, regarded - that fact as 
highly complimentary to ourselves. Yet we could not 
but see that those who made the most constant effort to 
be kind and forbearing, if not always successful, were 
more worthy of praise than were we, to whom no effort 
was necessary. Thus the unsolved problem still haunt- 
ed us, and would not be dismissed, until time and inves- 
tigation, throwing light into the dark recesses of mental 
science, had shown us that our unanimity, and the inhar- 
mony we saw, rested alike upon inexorable law, and, 



36 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

consequently, was neither creditable nor discreditable 
to either. We could only rejoice that we had been 
so blessed. 

As years rolled on, and we comprehended, more and 
more, that the experiences which were so familiar to us 
were in some respects unique, and belonged to a class 
of unexplained phenomena, occurring only in rare and 
exceptional instances, we devoted much mutual thought 
to the endeavor to unvail, if possible, the hidden work- 
ings of the mysterious law that united us ; to discover 
what was the force which caused and regulated the 
transmission of thought and its method of operation. 

Without attempting to enter into a critical disquisi- 
tion on the subject, I will briefly state the principal 
facts that we were able to glean. In the first place we 
discovered that it was not so often the isolated thought 
or emotion that was conveyed, as that the mental state 
of the one was reflected, or photographed, upon the 
mind of the other, from which the causes of that men- 
tal state were readily inferred, and with almost invari- 
able accuracy. We next sought to decide whether the 
power of transmitting these impressions was due to, or 
dependent upon, an effort of the will ; and found that, 
while the exertion of the will might deepen the effect, 
and in the case of others might be indispensable, that, 
as between ourselves, the message was transmitted, not 
only without any volition on our part, but sometimes in 
spite of our will to the contrary (as when one would 
wish to withhold from the other the knowledge of 
trouble or sickness) ; and that the vividness of the im- 
pression sent would be in exact proportion to the 
strength of the cause in the mind of the involuntary 
sender. But we alsq discovered that two causes might 



CHILDHOOD. 37 

interfere to modify the vividness of the impression re- 
ceived : first, any unusual pre-occupation or agitation 
on the part of the receiver ; and, second, the interven- 
tion of a powerful supra-mundane will. In the first 
case the impression received was liable to be confused 
and indistinct, and in the second case it might be dimin- 
ished in strength to such a degree as to be almost im- 
perceptible, but never totally interrupted or destroyed. 
These facts, ascertained by repeated experiment, place 
these peculiar phenomena so evidently within the do- 
minion of law, albeit a law not fully understood, that 
it were folly to question their existence, or ascribe them 
to coincidence or fancy. On the contrary, their actual- 
ity has been so abundantly proven to my mental con- 
sciousness, — so fully realized, — that, were all other 
proofs of immortality swept away, I could fearlessly 
rest my hope — my knowledge — of continued life and 
love beyond the grave on this : that, from beyond the 
shadowy vail that divides the visible from the invisible 
world, the twin-soul still responds to mine as clearly 
and unmistakably as of old. Thus the mystic bond, 
which triumphed over distance and outward circum- 
stances here, is still our solace, and, unchanged by death, 
reveals at once its own eternal nature and the soul's im- 
mortal life. 



38 BIOGRAPHT OF A. B. WHITING. 



CHAPTER III. 

SCHOOL-DAYS. — TEMPORARY WITHDRAWAL OF THE 
CLAIRVOYANT GIFT. — CONSEQUENT SKEPTICISM. 

Up to the age of twelve, Albert Bennet continued to 
see and converse with the ethereal beings spoken of in 
the last chapter, though he learned to keep his own 
counsel, and ceased to try to convince others of their 
reality. Soon after reaching his twelfth year he was 
prostrated by an attack of lung fever, with threatened 
congestion ; and all the wise ones said, " Lo ! the time 
has come which we foretold." The struggle was long 
and desperate, but life and destiny conquered au last, 
and, after well nigh passing the limits of the shadowy 
valley, he awoke on earth ; but the strange gifts of his 
childhood had departed. Of his sensations at this time 
and subsequently I shall quote his own words in de- 
scribing them to a friend. He said, "An indefinable 
loneliness came over me, and in time I grew to look 
upon the past second-sight as a delusion, pleasant, but 
gone forever. I thought I saw the correctness of my 
friends' assertion, — that it was a shadow on the eye or 
mind, — and I seemed to myself to have grown im- 
measurably older by its removal. For six years to a 
day, I saw nothing of a spiritual character ; for that six 
years I believed death to be an eternal sleep, and 
thought of it only with a shudder." Those six years 
brought some change in outward circumstances and 



SCHOOL-DATS. 39 

surroundings. He grew rapidly toward manhood, and 
a portrait in oil taken at the age of fifteen shows a 
youth slender and spiritual in appearance, but with a 
maturity of expression in excess of his years. He is 
taken as a student, book in hand, and looks the char- 
acter to the life. He was at that time attending school 
at East Bridgewater Academy, an institution of little 
classical pretensions, but where higher English branches 
and modern languages were taught in a thorough and 
systematic manner. During the two years that he re- 
mained there, his studies were frequently interrupted 
by ill health, and his eyes, naturally short-sighted, be- 
came so weak from the strain of continuous study as to 
compel the wearing of glasses, thus gaining for him the 
playful sobriquet of " The Professor." Yet, under all 
these disadvantages his progress was rapid ; he enjoyed 
his school-life immensely, and was always foremost in 
all those little enterprises which abound among stu- 
dents, such as the publication of a paper, amateur 
theatricals, &c. In these pursuits he developed not 
only considerable literary and histrionic talent, but a 
genius for depicting the ludicrous, which nobody would 
have suspected from his staid and sober demeanor. He 
was peculiarly happy in burlesque, when the mood was 
on him, and delighted to show up sham pretensions and 
inconsistencies, whether existing in the small world of 
the school or the g^eat world without. Some of the 
articles written by him at that time abound in hits at 
the popular vices and follies of society, and, stripped 
of certain local allusions, would read well now ; but 
they are chiefly valuable as serving to show how in- 
stinctive was his study of human nature, and how clear 
his insight into human motives. Bigotry and intoler- 



40 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

ance lie caricatured remorselessly ; for lie was ever the 
champion of free thought, and hated tyranny as ear- 
nestly as he despised hypocrisy. Among his favorite 
subjects in serious writing were Reform, Free Speech, 
and kindred topics. 

His religious views at this time were decidedly heter- 
odox. He rejected utterly the Christian dogma of 
an angry God, — who would punish the wicked forever 
and ever, — and regarded immortality as not proven. 
It seemed to him much more reasonable to suppose that 
death was the end — as birth the beginning — of life, a 
dreamless sleep, than to accuse a just God of creating 
beings, endowed with immortal life, only to doom them 
to eternal torment. How strong his feelings were upon 
this subject, and how prophetic of the spiritual awaken- 
ing which was coming, will be best shown by the fol- 
lowing extract from his journal, under date East 
Bridgewater, June 11, 1851 : — 

" Most of the people here are a hundred years behind 
the times. Why, some of the older people call me a blas- 
phemer, because I dare to speak the truth. They uphold 
the doctrine of everlasting punishment and eternal dam- 
nation ! O, vile misrepresentation of Almighty God ! 

" Why, if their description is true, God is an unjust and 
cruel being, a villain of the deepest dye. Gf-od is love, 
all love ! and the miscreant who would stand up in the 
pulpit, and with solemn look misrepresent his Creator, 
deserves to have his lips sealed forever. He is a de- 
ceiver of mankind and a traitor to his God. 

" They talk about the Bible being the Word of God. 
What nonsense ! I believe it to be a history — - nothing 
more. The time will come when people will wonder that 
ever a race of beings existed who worshiped a book. 



SCHOOL-DATS. 41 

I hope whoever reads this journal in after years, when 
I am gone to the spirit land, will say with truth, c He 
had a faint idea of the right.' " 

Twenty-one years have elapsed since those lines were 
penned, and, in the light those years have brought, I 
doubt not many will fulfill his modest wish, seeing in 
this passage, though crude and harsh in expression, a 
foreshowing not only of the present, but of the future 
yet to be. 

Soon after the date above given, he was obliged to 
leave school permanently, on account of continued ill 
health. He regretted this much; for, aside from his 
love of study, he highly prized the friendships and pleas- 
ant associations there formed, and kept them in tender 
recollection all his life. About this time — 1851-2 — his 
attention was first directed to the subject of spiritual 
manifestations, so called. A year or two previous he 
had attended a course of lectures given by the celebrated 
Dr. Dodds, on Mesmerism and Psychology. He was 
very desirous of being mesmerized, under the idea that 
it might benefit his health, but could not be affected in 
the least by this most powerful and learned of psycholo- 
gists (nor by any other whom he ever met) ; but, 
strange to say, found himself to be a powerful operator. 
He took private instructions from Dr. Dodds, and 
studied the subject a great deal ; and when, soon after, 
the phenomena of Spiritualism was brought to his notice, 
he did not call it a humbug, but a new and different 
form of biologic development. "But," said he, "it 
can't be spirits, for there are no spirits. They are va- 
pors of the mind." His grandmother Whiting, for 
whose superior intellect he had the utmost reverence, 
was among the first to investigate the "rappings," and 



42 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

become convinced of their spiritual origin. His own 
mother was thereby induced to inquire, and with the 
same result ; but he was still positive in his skepticism, 
saying to them, " I used to see ghosts when I was little, 
and you told me it was a delusion ; now you are crazier 
than I ever was. Nothing short of seeing the spirits 
will convince me that there are any." That this abso- 
lute proof was not long delayed will be seen in due 
time as our narrative progresses. 



CHAPTER IV. 

REMOVAL TO THE WEST. — RETURN OF THE OPENED 
VISION. — INTRODUCTION TO SPIRITUALISM. — WON- 
DERFUL MEDIUMISTIC EXPERIENCES. — DEBUT AS A 
PUBLIC LECTURER AT THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN. 

In the fall of 1852, the subject of removal to the 
west was first seriously considered in the family, in the 
hope that change of climate would be beneficial to the 
health, not only of the son, but the mother, who was 
again suffering from the consumptive tendencies of her 
early days. Our father, accordingly, took an extended 
tour of observation through the west, and was so well 
pleased with the country — and with Michigan in par- 
ticular — that, in the ensuing spring, he removed his 
family thither, choosing for their home a small farm 
adjoining the village of Brooklyn, Jackson County. 

That a youth of seventeen should enjoy a journey of 
this kind, and enter with keen relish into all the little 



REMOVAL TO THE WEST. 43 

amusing and interesting incidents of travel, is natural. 
The spirit of adventure found plenty of excitement, nor 
was the piquant seasoning of danger lacking, for cross- 
ing Lake Erie in the month of April, with the ice just 
breaking up, and a furious storm raging, was no joke at 
the time, though the occasion of many humorous anec- 
dotes and reminiscences afterward. 

The village of Brooklyn was, in 1853, quite insig- 
nificant in size, although it had been settled some 
twenty years, and hence the surrounding country was 
well improved, and by no means a wilderness. It lies 
about fifteen miles south from Jackson, which was its 
nearest railway station until 1855, when the building 
of a branch from Adrian to Jackson created a station at 
Napoleon, only four miles distant. The farm before 
mentioned lay to the west of the village, the house 
being not more than a quarter of a mile from the main 
street, while the fields belonging stretched back about 
the same distance to the beautiful River Raisin, which 
formed its western, and, by a bend, a part also of its 
southern boundary. The house faced the east, and was 
a neat frame building, containing in the main part two 
large rooms on the ground floor, with the same above, 
to which was added a wing on the north, comprising 
bedroom, kitchen, pantry, &c. The front, or east, 
chamber was the room occupied by my brother, the 
stairway lying between that and the western (my own) 
room. I am thus particular in description to render 
clearer the events soon to be narrated. 

The summer of 1853 was marked by no important 
event. The time passed swiftly in out-door employ- 
ments and sports, which seemed to produce something 
of the beneficial effect hoped for, and as the people 



44 BIOGRAPHY OF A, B. WHITING. 

were very kind and friendly, the feeling of strangeness 
soon wore away. In the early fall, a lady, who had 
called several times, broached the subject of spiritual 
circles, said there was one in the place of which she was 
a member, and invited our father and mother to attend. 
The latter excused herself on the ground of ill health. 
The lady thereupon stated that at a recent meeting of 
their circle, a lady medium present, while under con- 
trol, had told them that there was a medium in our 
family. She was informed that it was a mistake, but 
still urged attendance upon the circle, "just to see 
what would come of it," and finally asked if, as mother 
was unable to go out, it would be agreeable to have the 
circle held there at some time. To this mother con- 
sented readily, as the members, few in number, were 
most of them known to her as persons of unexception- 
able character and standing in society. The appointed 
evening came, and with it the party, as arranged. The 
medium above spoken of — an elderly lady, and a fine 
healing and test medium, as was afterward proved — 
was among the first to arrive. She was a total stranger 
to all the family, but no sooner had she entered the 
house than she walked directly up to my brother, and 
laying her hand upon his shoulder, said, " This is the 
one of whom I spoke." She then went on in the most 
explicit language to predict his future career, which 
prediction, both as regards the phases of his medium- 
ship and his public life, has been literally verified; 
although, I think, not one of the persons present really 
believed it at the time, including the medium herself. 
He, certainly, was anything but credulous, and never 
spoke of the matter afterward, except to laugh at it, 
and think the " prophetess" a queer person. Nothing 



RETURN OF SPIRIT-SIGHT. 45 

occurred to change his skepticism until the following 
January, when, suddenly and without warning, the 
spirit-sight, the lost gift of his childhood, returned to 
him. Of the manner and circumstances of this return I 
shall give his own account, as preserved in his journal. 

" On the night of the 21st of January, 1854, I was 
suddenly awakened by four persons, bearing the ap- 
pearance of Indians, who stood before me as distinctly 
as any persons I ever saw in my life. My room was bril- 
liantly illuminated, although the night was very dark ; I 
rubbed my eyes and half arose, to be sure I was awake ; 
but there they stood, until I had time to look at each 
one in detail, and compare and note the points of differ- 
ence in their appearance and accouterments. At length 
one of them — a chief of gigantic stature — approached 
my bedside, and addressed me as follows : — 

"'Child of earth, take back the inheritance of your 
ancestors, the gifts of your childhood ! We are spirits ; 
we will give you health, and a knowledge of spiritual 
life and intercourse. Other spirits will make you an 
instrument in their hands to proclaim this knowledge to 
the world. Tell what you have seen.' 

" The speaker then returned to his place with the 
other three, and they all departed together, taking with 
them the light they had brought. 

" The solitude and darkness of a winter's night was 
again around me, and, as if to render the scene more 
impressive, an old wooden clock — which is older than 
I am — struck twelve three times, at intervals of a 
few minutes. I disobeyed their injunction, and told 
no one what I had seen. They came again the next 
night, and the next, and for ten consecutive nights, the 
same four always, and the same one of the four acting 



46 BIO GRAPH 7 OF A. B. WHITING. 

as spokesman. Still I told no one. It had, become a 
source of annoyance to me, for I feared I was really- 
becoming insane. Finally, the tenth night, I said to 
them, somewhat pettishly, — 

" ' If you are spirits, why can't you bring some one 
whom I will know, instead of Indians altogether ? ' 

" ' It shall be as you desire,' was the reply. 

" The next night, when they came, to my surprise 
and gratification, my little brother, who had been dead, 
as I thought, for several years, appeared plainly before 
me, and spoke to me, saying, — 

" 4 It is indeed true that spirits exist and communicate. 
It is my pleasure to return, giving my testimony to 
sustain what has been told you. I live, and am happy ; 
your brother still in love, truth, and reality.' 

" He also charged me, as had the others, to tell what 
I had seen ; but, when morning came, I could not make 
up my mind to do so. The next night my visitors did 
not appear, nor the next, and so on for several nights, 
until I had begun to think perhaps it was a delusion 
after all, and rejoice that I had not exposed myself to 
ridicule by telling of it. About two weeks after 
these appearances ceased, one night about sunset, as I 
was walking out with my father, I saw what I supposed 
to be a genuine Indian, of flesh and blood, standing by 
the fence at the roadside. The idea that it was a spirit, 
or one of the same apparitions I had seen in my room, 
did not occur to me, as they had only appeared in the 
night-time, and had so long ceased altogether. So I 
innocently remarked to father, — 

" ' See that Indian ! What can he be doing there ? ' 

" He looked. 6 Why,' said he, ' what do you mean ? 
There is nobody there.' 



THE REALITY OF SPIRITS. 47 

" * There is ! ' I replied, positively. 

64 So we both walked toward the place where he 
stood ; but, as we approached, my Indian rose into the 
air and vanished, laughing as he went. They had 
adopted this ruse to bring me out, and make me tell 
what I had seen, for, of course, I had to explain to 
father, and tell him what I had witnessed before. 

"'Well,' said he, 4 it is very strange! Come back 
into the house, and request them to come again when 
we are all present.' 

"As soon as we had seated ourselves, a spirit ap- 
peared whom I did not know. I saw him, though none 
of the rest did, which was a great mystery to me. I 
described him, and as soon as I had done so, my father 
said, — 

" \ That is your grandfather Whiting — my father.' 

" Now, I had never seen my grandfather on earth, 
nor was there a portrait of him extant. I also saw at 
that time several others that I knew, and ever since 
have seen them more or less every day. I can say that 
Iknotv spirits exist; and in their existence and com- 
munion I behold the glorious fact, the soul-stirring 
realization, that I, too, am to live eternally. They tell 
me that this opened vision will never wholly leave me 
again, and that the changes through which I was pass- 
ing—mentally and physically — made it necessary that 
it should be withdrawn during those six years." 

After that, the Indians came to him every night, and 
would throw him into a kind of semi-conscious trance, and 
make him exercise for the benefit of his health, putting 
him through many singular forms of exercise. When it 
became warm weather, in the ensuing May and June, 
they would sometimes make him get up and go out of 



48 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING, 

doors in the middle of the night. I will quote from the 
journal one incident of many. 

" Last night they put me in an unconscious trance, and 
took me to the river. The first I knew, I found myself 
in father's large row-boat, out in the middle of the stream. 
I was astonished, thought it must be a dream, until one 
of my Indian friends appeared, and said, — 

" ' I brought you here ; reach out and pluck a lily ; 
put it in your pocket.' I did as directed. 'Now,' 
said he, 4 row the boat ashore.' 

- " ' I can't,' said I, ' I never rowed a bit in my life.' 

" 4 I'll help you,' said he. 

" So I made the attempt; succeeded very well. 
When I had got the boat ashore I again lost conscious- 
ness, and when I awoke it was morning, and I was in 
bed as usual. 4 Well,' thought I, rubbing my eyes, ' I 
have had a queer dream.' Then I remembered the lily, 
and going to my pocket drew it out still wet." 

His health gradually improved, and finding that these 
Indian spirits were doing for him what no earthly power 
could do, he gave himself up to their treatment. After 
a time other spirits controlled him, some to speak, some 
to write, others to sing ; giving a great variety of tests. 

When he wrote it was wholly mechanical, with one 
hand as well as the other, and sometimes both at once. 
Frequently, too, the writing would be upside down to 
him, or reversed, so that it was necessary to hold it be- 
fore a glass to read it. He preserved in one small 
blank book upward of twenty different handwritings, 
and seven different languages, and carried it with him 
after he began to travel, until all the languages had 
been tested by persons capable of deciding as to their 
genuineness. He understood, at that time, only three 



NUMEROUS VISITORS. 49 

languages, and one of those imperfectly. (This writ- 
ing gift wholly left him soon after he began to lecture.) 
He was sometimes quite violently controlled, lifted 
in the air and moved from one part of the house 
to another, but never injured in the least. At one 
time, I remember, he was taken up from a reclining 
position on a lounge, carried across two rooms, and 
deposited upon another lounge, without once touching 
the floor, a distance of at least thirty-five feet. This 
was in broad daylight, in presence of our mother and 
myself. It was done very quickly, — quicker, I think, 
than he could have run the distance. It was also 
entirely unsought and unexpected, as were all the 
manifestations of a similar character that ever took 
place with him. Indeed, they seldom happened at all, 
unless to assist him in difficulty, or remove him from 
danger ; but power was never lacking in such time of 
need. 

Of course the report of his remarkable gifts drew 
crowds of visitors, some of whom were actuated by cu- 
riosity, and some driven by the natural longing of be- 
reft hearts for tidings from the other side. To many 
of both classes the most satisfactory tests were given, 
so that it often happened that those who came to laugh 
remained to pray for more light from the beautiful be- 
yond. To multiply instances would be tedious and 
unprofitable. Thousands of similar ones are taking 
place all over the country to-day, though then compara- 
tively rare. The test was generally threefold. Where 
the person inquiring was a total stranger, and not intro- 
duced by name, the spirit, or spirits, who appeared with 
him, would call him by name, state their own names and 
relationship, and give some reminiscence of their life 
4 



50 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

or death to confirm their identity. To this was some- 
times added a few words of advice concerning private 
business, or an allusion to circumstances known only 
to the person addressed, or to facts not known to him or 
her at the time, but afterward ascertained. He con- 
tinued to give such tests up to the time of his advent 
as a public lecturer ; but after that, though he saw just 
the same, he rarely got any communication direct, ex- 
cept from his own circle and personal friends. 

About six months after he first saw the Indians, he 
was first controlled by the Italian spirit, Farini, who 
caused him to speak and sing in Italian as well as Eng- 
lish. His development and physical training went on 
for a year longer, at the expiration of which time his 
health was firmly established. He had spoken some to 
public audiences in places near home, where an interest 
had sprung up ; but now came his definite entrance upon 
public labors. 

Extract from Journal, July, 1855. 

" The other night Farini appeared to me, saying, 
6 On the 15th day of August approaching, you must 
begin your work.' I pondered upon it. What can it 
mean ? thought I. Last night he came again. 

" ' Prepare to fulfill your destiny ! ' were his words. 

" 4 Let me know my destiny,' said I in return. 

" Then he lifted the vail that obscured the future, 
revealing to me my future as a public lecturer, the day 
I should start, the mode of traveling, the direction 
necessary for me to take, and many other particulars. 
Feeling that the power which had restored me to health 
was at least entitled to respect, I signified my willing- 



EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 51 

ness to obey his directions. He then addressed himself 
to me in these words : — 

" ; Go, child of earth ! Fame, honor, and glory await 
you in this world, and in that heavenly clime where 
I live to be your guiding star. Be faithful to your 
trust ! Be true to yourself ! We will be true to you. 
Many, calling themselves friends, will try to turn you 
from your course ! Heed them not, but pass on in your 
allotted pathway ! Enemies will oppose you ; the op- 
posing world will frown ; fear them not, for truth is 
more powerful than error, and must prevail. Although 
foes may be as thorns in your path, we will cover them 
with the fair roses of spiritual love, and the love of 
earth shall respond, more than counterbalancing the 
hate and scorn it opposes.' " 

Extract from Journal, October 1, 1855. 

" On the 15th day of August, I left home with the 
firm determination of fulfilling the wishes of my spirit 
guide. He told me on starting, — 

M ' The compact shall be for two years, during which 
time you shall lecture as I direct. At the expiration of 
that time, you shall be at liberty to decide whether you 
will remain longer under my guidance and instruction.' 

" To this I assented, and started with my horse and 
buggy, as directed. Stopped the first night at the 
house of a friend, and the folio wing day went on to 
Albion, — a town on the M, C. R. R., — twenty miles 
west of Jackson. Arrived there about dark ; called at 
the house of Mr. John Phipps, — a fine, whole-souled 
man, an Englishman by birth, and a strong spiritualist. 
He received me cordially, and introduced me to several 
others 



52 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING, 

" They desired me to lecture the following Sunday. 
I did so, and the interest was all I could desire. The 
poetic element in my lectures, the faculty of composing 
poetry impromptu, was new and interesting. At night 
Farini came to me, and said, ' This is only the begin- 
ning. Before the two years shall have rolled away, 
you shall lecture in most of the principal cities of the 
country, and not only improvise poetry, as now, but 
upon any subject given at the time by the audience. 9 
This seems a rather large promise, but all that he has 
hitherto foretold has been verified ; so I can not well 
doubt this." 

He continued westward, speaking at Marengo and 
Marshall, two evenings each, Ceresco one evening, 
Battle Creek two evenings, thence northward to Belle- 
vue, where he also spoke twice. While there he made 
the acquaintance of Mrs. Sprague, — afterward Mrs. 
Tuttle, — a trance speaker, well known and well be- 
loved, who, unable to endure the vicissitudes of pub- 
lic life, has long since passed on to her reward. He 
spoke again at Marshall, on his return, the audience 
consisting, as before, entirely of skeptics, and also 
another Sunday at Albion, returning home after an 
absence of four weeks. On this, the first trip of our 
spiritual Quixote, he made no charge for his services ; 
nor did he for some time subsequently, but accepted 
whatever remuneration the people were disposed to 
give. Later, perceiving that this course of procedure 
worked injustice, not only to himself and other workers, 
but to the public, inasmuch as places and persons the 
least able often gave the most liberally, he^ adopted a 
different and more impartial method. 



EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 53 

Of his second trip I shall quote the account from 
the journal. 

Extract. 

" I heard that there was to be a convention of Pro- 
gressive Friends — a so-called Free Meeting for the 
discussion of all reforms — at a place called Livonia, 
fifty miles from my home. I was impressed to go ; 
could not see the object then, but can now. I went ; 
found a motley collection of people, black and white ; 
some cursing the churches, some raving against the 
Union, some making long speeches against war, but no 
room for anything spiritual ; so I left for Detroit. As I 
was on my road thither, Farini addressed me, sa}T.ng, — 

" ; I brought you here to teach you not to look to any 
class of reformers, so called, many of whom are fanatics 
in reality, to sustain you. Spiritualism must stand by 
itself, unhampered by any of the c one-idea-isms ' of the 
day. It is for the poor and lowly, also for the rich and 
great ; for the southern slaveholder as well as for the 
northern abolitionist. Keep yourself aloof from all side 
issues.' 

-"I remained two days in Detroit, attending the state 
fair, and finding a friend in a namesake of mine, Dr. 
L. C. Whiting, and then returned home, having learned 
a valuable lesson." 

He made one more trip with horse and buggy, visit- 
ing again the places mentioned above, viz., Albion, 
Marshall, Battle Creek, &c. While at the latter place 
he went out to Harmonia, six miles distant, where 
there was a school, founded upon liberal principles, 



54 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

which seemed to give good hope of future usefulness, 
but for some reason was soon after abandoned. 

It was now into November, and leaving his horse and 
carriage, he took his fourth trip on the cars, going first 
to Adrian, thence to Munroe, then westward to Jones- 
ville, Coldwater, Sturgis, Constantine, South Bend, 
and Laporte ; at each of which places he lectured from 
two to six times, making many friends, whose names 
are recorded in his journal with the kindest expressions 
of regard. Among- these was Hon. S. C. Coffinbury, of 
Constantine, who, twelve years later, again stood by 
his side in defense of another principle, the sacred right 
of free speech. He next lectured in Waukegan, 111., 
and Racine and Milwaukee, Wis., meeting at the latter 
place Mr. S. J. Finney, then a lecturer upon the Har- 
monial Philosophy. Returning again to Waukegan, he 
was accompanied thence to Chicago by a party of 
friends, among whom was that remarkable medium, 
Mrs. Seymour, since gone home to the spirit world. 
The phase of her mediumship that attracted most atten- 
tion was the appearance of writing upon the arm, often 
the name of some spirit entirely unknown to her. 
This test was given by her in public during his lectures 
in Chicago, the letters remaining plain and distinct 
until nearly all the large audience had time to pass by 
and examine them. After delivering six lectures he 
retraced his route, and next went northward to Ionia 
and Grand Rapids, Mich. By this time the winter 
was far spent, and he returned home to rest and re- 
cuperate. 



THE BALLOT-TEST MEDIUM. 55 



CHAPTER V. 

FIRST EASTERN TOUR AND TRIPS THROUGH THE 
WEST. — INCIDENTS. — MEDIA MET WITH. — CLOSE 
OF FIRST YEAR OF PUBLIC LIFE. — THE COMPACT. 

On the 11th of March, 1856, he started upon his 
first eastern tour ; lectured at Adrian, and went from 
there to Cleveland; called at the office of the "Uni- 
verse," — a spiritual paper then published, — and, by 
invitation of the editor, lectured on the following Sun- 
day afternoon, Mr. Pardee speaking in the evening. 
He there met, for the first time, Mr. J. B. Conklin, of 
New York, — the great ballot-test medium, — of whom 
he says, — 

" His manner of giving tests is as follows : The 
investigator writes upon slips of paper the names of 
several of his spirit friends, folds them up separately, 
without showing them to Mr. C, then lifts them up one 
at a time, asking, ' Is this one here ? ' When the right 
one is taken, the table tips, or Mr. C.'s hand writes the 
answer. Other questions are answered in the same 
way." From Cleveland to Painesville and to Buffalo, 
where he spoke two Sundays, occupying the desk of 
Mr. Forster, who was absent. Buffalo was, at that date, 
a great center of spiritual light. The " Age of Prog- 
ress " was published there. Thomas Gales Forster occu- 
pied the rostrum, Miss Cora Scott — then a slender girl 
of fifteen — already gave promise of eloquence and 



56 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

future usefulness, while the array of physical media 
was such as we rarely find in the limits of a single city. 
Among this number were the since famous Davenport 
Brothers, whose wonderful mediumship has created so 
much excitement and controversy, both in this country 
and Europe. It may not be uninteresting to give his 
brief account of what he witnessed at their seances; 
showing, as it does, that though they were mere boys, 
and hence could not possibly have had " years of prac- 
tice to enable them to perform their feats," as is some- 
times alleged, yet the demonstrations in their presence 
were no less satisfactory and convincing than at the 
present day. He says, — 

" Several musical instruments were played upon at 
the same time ; a spirit calling himself John King spoke 
through the trumpet; at times spirit hands appeared, 
which all could see and feel. The boys were tied and 
untied without mortal aid, and once, when Ira was tied 
with a stout bed-cord, his coat was taken off and the 
ropes not disturbed at all. These demonstrations were 
given under, conditions which precluded the possibility 
of deception, even had there existed any disposition to 
deceive." 

Another of the Buffalo mediums was a Miss Brooks, 
in whose presence the piano was played upon without 
visible hands, the instrument being turned with the 
keys toward the wall. Not only were accompaniments 
given to anything sung by the company, but some- 
times original compositions of no small merit. One 
of these, called " The Shipwreck," was especially fine, 
— the roaring of the waves, the rushing of the wind, 
the creaking of timbers, the final crash, and even the 
shrieks of the dying, being plainly distinguishable. 



MEDIA MET WITH. 57 

I subjoin one other account of phenomena witnessed 
by him in Buffalo, some of which then seemed almost 
too marvelous for belief even to an eye-witness, but 
which will easily find credence now, as parallel cases 
have become in some degree common, and are well 
attested. 

" There was in Buffalo a Miss Judah, who lay sick, 
and whom the physicians had given up to die. Indeed, 
she was so low as to be unable to turn herself in bed, 
but lay in a kind of stupor, apparently unconscious of 
anything that took place around her. In her presence 
some of the most wonderful manifestations took place 
that I ever saw or read of, either in ancient or modern 
times. These consisted of speaking and singing in 
audible voices, without mortal agency ; some coarse and 
boisterous talkings, others more refined; men's voices 
and women's voices, sometimes two or three at the 
same time. The principal speaker was a coarse-voiced 
woman, who called herself Frank, and seemed to be 
very powerful ; another voice was that of a young man 
who sang beautifully, accompanying himself upon the 
guitar. Sometimes Frank would interrupt him, — tell 
him to stop, for she wanted to talk, &c. Spirit hands 
opened and shut doors, and were visible to all. This 
Frank seemed to have a particular spite against the 
doctor, would throw sticks of wood at him, and order 
him out of the house every time he came. She would 
call every one byname. The first time I went there 
she addressed me by my whole name, which was known 
to no person in Buffalo ; informed me that she liked 
me ; had been to hear me lecture, and should go again ; 
told me the dates upon several pieces of money in my 



58 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

pocket, and then asked me if I would like to have the 
4 young man ' sing for me. I said, ' Yes.' 

" ' Well,' she rejoined, ' he shall sing for you. What 
piece will you have ? ' 

" < O,' replied I, laughing, ' have him sing my favor- 
ite.' Thereupon the guitar was taken and tuned, and 
the voice sang the Scotch song, 6 Annie Laurie,' in the 
most unexceptionable and expressive manner. When 
he had concluded, Frank said, — 

"•' There ! you didn't think I knew what your favor- 
ite song was — did you ? You know better now.' I 
admitted that she was right. 

" I went there several times, and on each occasion 
the talkings came in a similar manner. On my last 
visit Frank said, c Albert, I am going to write you a 
letter ; ' and sure enough, just before I left, from the 
half open door of the room where the sick girl lay, a 
large hand and arm was reached forth, the hand hold- 
ing a letter, which, on taking and opening, I found to 
contain several lines coarsely written with a pencil, and 
a small velvet flower." 

From Buffalo he continued eastward toward New 
York, lecturing on the way at Rochester, Syracuse, 
Homer, Courtland, and Binghamton, arriving in New 
York the 21st of April. There he found a true 
friend in A. J. Davis, and also made the acquaintance 
of Messrs. Partridge and Brittan, who were then pub- 
lishing the " Spiritual Telegraph." He spoke, the fol- 
lowing Sunday afternoon, at the Stuyvesant Institute, 
where the Spiritualists were then holding meetings, 
and in the evening in Brooklyn. On Monday left 
for Hartford, Conn., where he met Mrs. Mettler, the 
clairvoyant healer, and lectured once only, as he had 



LECTURES IN BOSTON. 59 

an engagement in Boston for the first two Sundays of 
May. 

Not being entirely devoid of that traditional rever- 
ence for the " Hub " which is supposed to be inherent 
in the constitution of every child of New England, he 
felt that here was the turning-point in his career, and 
that if he could succeed in the " Athens of America," 
he had nothing more to fear. On Sunday, May 4, he 
occupied the desk at Music Hall for the first time, and 
again the following Sunday. His success exceeded his 
most sanguine expectations. The " New England Spir- 
itualist," A. E. Newton editor, gave him most kind 
and flattering notice, and the Rubicon was passed. It 
was during his stay in Boston that he first improvised 
from a subject presented by the audience, the first trial 
being made in the presence of some friends, at the resi- 
dence of Mr. Tenny. This feat, the fulfillment of a 
prophecy made nearly a year previous, was afterward 
repeated in public, and became a prominent feature in 
his public efforts. A list of the different subjects so 
given, and upon which poems were pronounced, would 
of itself fill a good-sized volume. He once kept an 
account of the different themes so presented in two 
months, and the result was forty-two ; and this might 
be considered a fair average during at least ten 
years. 

After speaking one Sunday at Lowell, he next went 
to Portland, giving there six lectures, which drew large 
audiences, and were highly praised by the daily press. 
Two weeks later he gave a second series of lectures 
there, and also went to Brunswick, Maine, — the loca- 
tion of Bowdoin College, — lecturing, Sunday evening, 
in the Unitarian Church. When a theme for a poem 



60 BIOGRAPHT OF A. B. WHITING. 

was called for, a smart young student gave the subject 
of "Humbug," which, to his surprise, was accepted 
without hesitation, and he received more than he bar- 
gained for, in the way of a lesson on the subject pro- 
posed. 

The time intervening between the two Portland 
engagements was spent in visiting his old home, East 
Abington, from which he had been absent over three 
years, during which time he had so changed in appear- 
ance, by reason of his improved health, that hardly one 
of his relatives recognized him at first sight. While 
there he delivered a course of lectures and attended a 
large mass grove meeting of Spiritualists, at the cele- 
brated Island Grove, which had been a favorite resort 
of his boyhood, and where he now addressed an audi- 
ence of about two thousand people. What were his 
emotions that day, as he looked back over the changes 
of three years, and realized that he had entered upon 
another "Act" in the grand "Drama of Life," can 
never be told. 

He enjoyed on this occasion a visit with his grand- 
mother Whiting, whom he found as great a spiritualist 
as ever, — her intellect undimmed by age, — and from 
whom he received an intelligent appreciation and ear- 
nest sympathy, which he highly prized. 

It was now into July, and he started homeward, 
stopping one Sunday at Rochester, and going thence to 
Buffalo, with the intention of taking the steamer 
Northern Indiana to Toledo. Here occurred a remark- 
able instance of foresight on the part of his spirit guide, 
which he relates as follows : — 

" As I was going on board the steamer, Farini ap- 
peared to me, and said, — 



LIFE SAVED BT A SPIRIT. ' 61 

" ' Do not go upon that boat ; go over and take the 
steamer Mississippi, by way of Detroit.' I did so. In 
the night he again came to me, saying, — 

" fc The reason I told you to come by this boat is this : 
The " Northern Indiana" will be burned to-morrow.' 
The next day, about ten o'clock, the two boats being 
about seven miles apart, the ' Northern Indiana ' was 
discovered to be on fire. I was the first to see it, for 
I was expecting it, relying upon the information I had 
received. About fifty lives were lost, the balance being 
rescued by our boat. The scene was heart-rending in 
the extreme. Thus was my life preserved from the 
most imminent danger by a spirit, and I arrived home 
in safety on the 17th of July, after an absence of four 
months." 

The ensuing fall and winter he spent in the west, 
visiting most of the principal towns of Illinois, several 
in Wisconsin, and also St. Louis, Mo., averaging five 
lectures a week during the entire time, and meeting 
with the most gratifying success. In many of these 
places he delivered the first public lectures on Spiritu- 
alism to which their people had ever listened. Of 
course he did not escape the abuse of enemies, nor, in 
all cases, the misconception and ill-judged zeal of 
friends ; but he had the rich satisfaction of triumphing 
over all difficulties, and reaping not only the reward of 
an approving conscience, but also of generous apprecia- 
tion at the hands of the public. At Mendota he, for 
the first time, conducted a funeral service — an office 
he was often thereafter called upon to fill. He spent 
his twenty-first birthday in St. Louis, being on that 
occasion most hospitably entertained by a good friend, 
Mr. A. Miltenberger. 



62 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

The beauty of some of these western towns was 
highly gratifying to his sesthetic taste. With Rockford 
and Bloomington, 111., he was particularly pleased ; 
also Madison, Wis., of which he says, — 

" It is the prettiest city I ever saw. It is situated on 
a slight elevation of land, sloping gradually on either 
side to beautiful lakes. In the center, upon the top of 
the eminence, is the public square, containing fourteen 
acres of land, covered with oak trees in a state of nature, 
although the grounds are laid out in elegant style. On 
this square are the Capitol buildings, built of cream- 
colored stone, — of which also most of the buildings in 
the city are composed, — presenting a most beautiful 
combination of nature and art." 

At Rockford an incident occurred which he records 
as follows: "I was sent for to visit a man who was 
about to be executed for murder. I went and talked 
with him about an hour ; gave him my views of the 
future life ; told him many things ; so that I trust, 
when he awoke in the spirit land, he was not entirely a 
stranger to its realities. Of the barbarity of this kill- 
ing a man according to law I said nothing then, nor 
of the murder which he had committed, for I consider 
the former the most brutal of the two. I can not look 
upon it as right to kill a man in cold blood because he 
has killed another, so long as we have secure prisons in 
which to confine him. That interview was a source of 
instruction to me as well as to him." 

May 1, 1857, after a brief rest at home, he set out 
for Philadelphia, lecturing by the way at Cleveland 
and several other points in Ohio. This was his first 
visit to the Quaker City, and he found it " different 
from any other city " he had seen, but was very favor- 



VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA. 63 

ably impressed with the people. The venerable Sam- 
uel Barry, who kept a spiritual bookstore and periodi- 
cal depot, took a great interest in his welfare, and on 
parting, presented him with a letter which might be 
considered a model specimen of apt and affectionate 
advice from age to youth. 

He also had the pleasure of making the acquaintance 
of Professor Hare, Dr. Child, and many other noble 
workers in the spiritualistic ranks. He returned home 
through Central New York, spending the month of 
July at Syracuse and Saratoga, and remained until after 
the 15th of August, at which time the two years of 
his contract with his spirit guide expired. He natu- 
rally awaited the dawning of that day with some curi- 
osity, particularly as, for the two weeks intervening 
between his last lecture at Syracuse and that date, that 
constant friend seemed to have departed, and left him 
to his own reflections. 

Extract from Journal. 

" With the day came Farini. He said, — 

" ' The time has expired. Are you satisfied with 
your success ? ' 

u 4 1 am more than satisfied,' I replied. 

" ' You now believe in the power of a spirit to guard 
and protect — do you not ? ' 

4 * ' Yes ; I am fully convinced of their ability to guide 
those whom they choose as their instruments.' 

" ' Do you wish to continue under my guidance ? ' 

"'Ido.' 

" ' I anticipated your answer. It shall be so. I will 
again be a light in your pathway, supplying you with 
knowledge, fit food for humanity. The time shall be 



64 BIO GRAPH T OF A, B. WHITING. 

unlimited. You have fulfilled your portion of the con- 
tract ; mine I voluntarily continue ; and you, of your 
own free will and pleasure, accept my proffered aid. 
Still will I o'ershadow you with such mantles as I 
deem adapted to your mental constitution and the 
wants of those to whom you minister. Go forth again 
upon your mission.' 

" 1 had many invitations to lecture on hand, but had 
replied to none, wishing first to consult him to whom I 
am indebted for so much help, in whose presence I feel 
myself but a child. After receiving these words of 
encouragement, I at once made arrangements for the 
fall and winter." 



CHAPTER VI. 

SECOND APPEARANCE IN BOSTON. — THE HARVARD 
PROFESSORS. — PROFESSOR FELTON SELECTS SUB- 
JECTS FOR IMPROVISATION. — EXTRACTS FROM THE 
BOSTON PRESS. — FIRST TRIP TO THE FAR SOUTH. — 
RETURN HOME IN APRIL, 1858. 

His first engagement was in Providence, R. I., the 
Sundays of September. During the month he spoke 
week evenings at Norwich, Conn., Greenwich, Paw- 
tucket, and Newport, R. I., and also enjoyed sundry ex- 
cursions to Rocky Point and other places of interest in the 
vicinity ; saw some powerful physical demonstrations at 
the residence of Judge Manchester, through the medi- 
umship of his daughter. One evening he was there to 



SECOND APPEARANCE IN BOSTON 65 

tea ; the table was spread for twelve, the tea poured 
out, when the table began to rise slowly, and, with no 
person touching it, remained an instant suspended at a 
hight of about two feet from the floor, and then gently- 
descended, without breaking or displacing a dish or spill- 
ing a drop of liquid. From Providence to Portland, 
Me., for a month, and thence to Boston, beginning there 
Sunday, November 22, to a good audience, which was in- 
creased the next Sunday. The week following he spoke 
in Cambridge, and there met the renowned Harvard 
professors, who became sufficiently interested in his 
lectures and improvisations to induce them to attend his 
lectures in Boston the ensuing Thursday evening, De- 
cember 3, and also the two Sunday evenings following. 

As, several years after, there arose some controversy 
with regard to the discussions which took place at this 
time, particularly with reference to the language used 
by the learned Greek scholar, Professor Felton, which 
was only settled by recourse to the full reports given 
by the Boston press at the time, I shall give a more ex- 
tended account of the matter than I might otherwise 
deem necessary. 

Besides the brief account contained in his journal, 
and the general recollection of living witnesses, I have 
before me files of several newspapers published in Boston 
at the time, among them the " New England Spiritual- 
ist," " Banner of Light," and also the sheet which was 
at that time considered the organ, par excellence, of 
old fogjdsm, viz., the " Boston Courier." From these 
papers, holding such widely different religious views, 
yet agreeing in their reports in all material respects, I 
shall give some extracts. 
5 



66 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

From the New England Spiritualist, December 12, 1857. 

A. B. Whiting at the Meionaon. — Two Profess- 
oes in the Field. 

Mr. A. B. Whiting lectured at tlie Meionaon on 
Thursday evening of last week, taking as a text 
"Man, know thyself." He spoke of man as a trinity 

— soul, spirit, and matter combined — the image of God 

— the fairest of his works. Man should search into 
the depths of his own mental and spiritual nature. He 
can thus learn more than by studying the outward 
world ; for man is an epitome of the universe. As he 
learns the laws of his own being is he better prepared 
to understand the nature of spirit life. Everything 
that gives us a knowledge of the soul is of use. There- 
fore, if no other benefit were to be derived from spirit 
manifestations, they are useful in causing us to inves- 
tigate the laws of mind, and in teaching man to know 
himself. As lofty minds are led to examine this subject, 
though they may form diverse opinions upon it, yet will 
they help to expand our knowledge of human nature. 

As spirit communion becomes more common, minds 
will become more unfolded, and men will receive 
higher lessons of truth. Their greatest knowledge 
will be to know that knowledge will never cease. When 
the time should arrive that there was nothing more for 
man to learn, it would be well for him to become an- 
other creature, for his existence would cease to have 
any interest. It is a rule in nature, that nothing can 
understand that which is above it ; we can fully com- 
prehend only that which is on a level with or below us. 
Men understand the past better than the present. No 



IMPR O VISA TION. 67 

age is appreciated in the present ; but when it becomes 
the past, its merits and its virtues are looked back upon 
and acknowledged. So will it be with the present age 
and its spiritual developments. The future that now is 
will look back upon them and assign them their true 
worth. Man will never understand the present in 
which he lives until he becomes more intuitively de- 
veloped. 

He then went on to speak of the wonderful faculties 
of the human mind, and the desirability of developing 
them to that state where they will be in harmony with 
all God's works. Men were drawn nearer the spirit 
world by spirit communion, and the more a man knows 
of that world the better for him, intellectually, re- 
ligiously, spiritually. The earth was made that man 
might exist ; man was made to give birth to a spirit 
bright and beautiful, to live a holy and happy life. Man 
was made in the image of God — not physically, as some 
say, but spiritually. He contains within himself the 
germ of wisdom, love, and truth. When man shall learn 
better the faculties of the mind, he will learn better 
the laws by which the universe is governed, God being 
the soul of the universe, as the soul of man is the 
animative power of the body. "Man, know thyself." 

At the close of the lecture Professor Felton, as chair- 
man of a committee appointed at the opening of the 
meeting to select a subject for improvisation, read a list 
of topics, remarking that they were not designed or 
expected to test the medium's claims to spirit influence, 
but as affording subjects to improvise upon. The me- 
dium chose from the list as read the following selection 
from Schiller: — 



68 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

" On the mountain is freedom ! the breath of decay 
Never sullies the fresh-flowing air ; 
0, nature is perfect wherever we stray ; 
"lis man that deforms it with care." 

An extempore poetic composition of some fifteen 
minutes in length was then delivered with too great 
rapidity for a reporter's pencil to follow. As to its 
merits, the reader will form his conclusion after reading 
what here 1 follows : — 

Dr. Gardner, at the conclusion of the poem, said that 
remarks would be in order from any person in the au- 
dience ; whereupon Professor Horsford arose and made 
the inquiry, " Though this performance is not put forth 
as a test of spirit influence, is it not to be taken as such 
by the audience ? Is it not expected that it will be 
received as proof of the presence and power of spirits 
from another world ? " 

Dr. G. replied that he expected each individual to 
judge for himself. For his own part he did not consider 
trance-speaking, by itself, as conclusive proof. His 
belief in spirit manifestations rested mainly upon other 
evidences. 

Professor Horsford remarked that improvisation is a 
common thing in some parts of the world. In Western 
New York he had heard Methodist exhorters who spoke 
in a surprising manner — quite equal to Mr. Whiting. 
Improvising poems is quite common in Italy, where 
numerous persons can be found who for a small coin 
will recite poems on any subject named. He knows a 
child six years old who will repeat rhymes by the hour 
together. He is acquainted with several young ladies 
who have practiced the same thing successfully. A poem 
was once given Coleridge in a dream, which so impressed 



IMPR O VISA TION. 6 9 

his memory that he wrote it out in full upon waking. 
This gift is not a remarkable one, and should not be 
regarded as evidence of a spirit acting upon men. [Here 
follows a rejoinder by Dr. Gardner, to the effect that if 
a man performs in the trance that which he could not 
in the normal state, he could not account for it except 
upon the supposition that there was an assisting power 
above and beyond him.] 

Professor Felton then rose and said that he must bear 
evidence to the truth. He claimed to be a Spiritualist, 
a devout believer in the existence of spirits in a better 
world. He had listened with pleasure, and not without 
admiration, to the improvisation of Mr. Whiting, and 
with nine tenths of what had been advanced he did not 
differ, but he saw no evidence in it of the truth of 
Spiritualism. His belief in spirit existence was drawn 
from the study of human nature, from the writings of 
philosophers, and from the Scriptures. He did not dif- 
fer from Dr. G. or the speaker, except where they have 
assumed what is unproved — that these things come 
from spirits. Like Professor Horsford he looked upon 
improvisation as nothing extraordinary or wonderful. 
In Greece, the land of poetry, there are hundreds who 
can not read or write who have a remarkable faculty of 
improvisation. He gave the medium credit for the tal- 
ent displayed, and admitted there were many poetical 
expressions in the poem, and this power was proof of 
the presence in its possessor of a very bright spirit, be 
it embodied or disembodied. 

But there were imperfections in the production, as 
might be expected. Only a poet of the very highest 
genius could have improvised a faultless poem. The 
speech, as is the case with all mediums, was character- 



70 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

istic of the individual. He thought it, therefore, rational 
to suppose that it all came from the medium. It re- 
quired longer legs than he had ever seen to make a 
logical step to the conclusion that it came from a dis- 
embodied spirit. t 

Dr. Gardner thought that the fact of the communica- 
tions, partaking in some measure of the peculiarities of 
the medium, did not militate against their spiritual 
origin. He illustrated by comparison: A stream of 
pure water, when made to run through pine logs, be- 
came impregnated with the quality of the wood, so as 
to taste differently from what it would if taken fresh 
from the spring ; but it was the same water, neverthe- 
less, and came from the spring. Scripture furnishes 
analogous examples. The inspirations of Moses and 
Jesus are widely different ; they partake of their gen- 
eral characteristics. 

[The discussion, having thus become general, was con- 
tinued to some length, but having no further personal 
reference, is omitted.] 

Repetitions are tedious ; therefore I shall only quote 
one paragraph from the "Courier" report, viz.: the 
first remarks of Professor Felton, which will be seen to 
coincide almost exactly with the report given above. 

From the Boston Courier, December 4, 1857. 

Professor Felton then rose and said, that he claimed 
to be a Spiritualist, a devout believer in the existence 
of spirits in a better world ; but he had not seen any 
evidence to sustain what is called modern Spiritualism. 
He had listened with pleasure, and not without admira- 
tion, to the improvisation by Mr. Whiting. But he 
must consider it as nothing extraordinary or wonderful. 



EXTRACTS FROM THE BOSTON PRESS. 71 

Among the nations of Southern Europe improvisation 
is a common practice. In Greece, the land of poetry and 
poets, men and women who are not even able to read or 
write possess the power of improvisation to a remarka- 
ble extent. That power was proof of the presence of a 
very bright spirit, be it embodied or disembodied. 

The following Sunday — Dec. 6th — the poem on 
the subject of " Belshazzar's Feast " — a fragment of 
which will be found in another part of this book — was 
improvised, and in the evening Professor Felton was 
again at the head of the committee, as will be seen by 
the subjoining extract. 

From the Banner of Light, December 12, 1857. 

At the close of the singing, Mr. Whiting took his 
stand in the desk, and the subject of the discourse was 
announced as follows : •' The Religious Nature of Man, 
and its Application to Modes of Worship," upon which 
an exceedingly interesting and instructive discourse 
was given, commanding the earnest attention of the 
audience, not even excepting the learned gentlemen 
from Harvard. 

After the close of the discourse, the subject for a 
poem was announced by Professor Felton, and was as 
follows: " Th& Duty of the Living to the Memory of 
the Dead." Several subjects had been prepared by the 
committee, but on the first and second being read, the 
controlling intelligence announced its preference for 
the first ; and, after a moment's delay, the medium 
commenced the improvisation, which occupied near a 
quarter of an hour, showing the " duties of the living 
to the memory of the (so-called) dead;" teaching 



72 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

us that our duty to those who have left the form, and 
passed to a higher life, is to live lives of purity, love, 
and kindness to our fellow-man, and thus show our 
appreciation of the Great Source of our being — 
teaching us that we should understand the great truth, 
that those friends who have left the form, and passed 
to the spirit world, are not dead, but that they are only 
born to a more beautiful state of existence, with the 
ability to return to us, whom they loved when with us, 
and cheer and encourage us onward in our efforts. 

I will only add the report of the proceedings upon 
the succeeding and closing Sunday of this engage- 
ment, from the columns of the " New England Spirit- 
ualist," of December 19. 

" Mr. A. B. Whiting closed his series of lectures at 
the Melodeon, on Sunday last, in a manner to add to 
his already high reputation as a medium. In the after- 
noon he spoke on the ' Harmonies of the Universe,' 
after which an improvisation was given — subject, 
4 The Transfiguration of Christ on the Mount.' The 
evening discourse was on the Golden Age, and was, 
without question, the best that has been given by the 
speaker in this city. For an improvisation he chose, 
from a list of topics presented by a committee, the 
theme ' Knowledge cometh by Suffering.' 

" After the close of the evening services on the part 
of Mr. Whiting, Professor Felton rose and expressed 
his opinion of the discourse. He admired the ability 
displayed, thought the style was elegant, and the lan- 
guage appropriate, and the sentiments exalted. He 
approved of it unqualifiedly in these respects ; but he 
saw no evidence that it came from a spirit, and he 



EXTRACTS FROM THE BOSTON PRESS. 73 

must protest against any such conclusion. The ideas 
advanced were not new ; they were the same as had 
been advanced by Socrates and Plato centuries ago, 
and by many intelligent minds since. He himself had 
entertained similar views for years ; but no disembodied 
spirit had ever come to him. It required no spirit from 
another world to tell us that a righteous life is the way 
to happiness. . . . 

" Dr. Gardner thanked the professor for his high com- 
pliments to the medium, and said he thought it would 
be foolish in a person like Mr. Whiting to attribute 
such excellent discourses to other minds, when, if they 
were his own, he might receive the individual honor 
which he now disclaimed. As to the idea that it re- 
quired no spirit to come and inculcate these doctrines 
of virtue, he thought, on the same principle, that God 
did not need to embody himself in humanity, and come 
down to earth to teach men to love one another. 

"-As Professor Felton had made allusion to Socrates, 
he was asked to explain what Socrates meant by speak- 
ing of his familiar spirit ? 

" The professor, after some circumlocution, said he 
probably meant the voice of conscience. 

" The inquiry was then made : Could the professor 
explain how it was that, three days before he took the 
poison, Socrates predicted that a certain vessel which 
was expected to arrive would not arrive till after his 
death? 

" Professor Felton thought it too difficult a question, 
involving too many abstruse points, to enter upon the 
merits of at that time and place. 

" ; But,' returned the questioner, ' did not Socrates 
himself say that he obtained his information from a 
demon or spirit?' 



74 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

" The professor replied that Socrates did claim to be 
under the guidance of a ' daimonion ; ' but he did not 
think he meant a disembodied spirit. He was then 
asked to give the plain English of daimonion. He said 
that according to some authorities it meant one of a 
certain order of spiritual beings. As this concession 
created some sensation in the audience, the professor 
repeated that he did not understand it to mean the dis- 
embodied spirit of a human being. 

" The learned gentleman was then appealed to for an 
explanation of what Plato meant when he said, ' Good 
men's souls are made demons of honor.' 

" The professor replied with politeness and a good 
many words, but failed to touch satisfactorily the point 
at issue. He was then requested to explain the differ- 
ence between the influence of this 6 demon ' upon 
Socrates, and that spoken of by mediums as spirit 
influence. 

" If any one obtained from his answer a correct idea 
of the difference, this reporter did not ; and therefore 
our readers must remain in ignorance. 

" His questioner then wished to know if a communi- 
cation was not once made to Socrates through the oracle 
at Delphi ? 

" Professor Felton. k Yes ; he was declared the 
" wisest man;" but it required no oracle or spirit to 
say that.' 

" ' But the point is, did not Socrates himself receive 
the Delphic communications as coming from something 
higher than the Pythoness, who was the medium ? ' 

" Professor Felton. ' I cannot speak with positive- 
ness on that point ; but if Socrates accepted the belief, 
I do not*' 



EXTRACTS FROM THE BOSTON PRESS. 75 

" The discussion was kept up with considerable ear- 
nestness on both sides, until Professor Horsford rose 
and turned the current into another channel. Pro- 
fessor Horsford said that illusions of the senses were 
very frequent in certain states of health. We often 
see and hear what does not exist. Nicolai, of Berlin, 
often saw figures before him, and heard them talk. On 
one occasion he saw the figure of his wife, who had 
been dead some time, and, rushing to meet her, was 
stopped by running against a door, and thus brought to 
his senses. The phenomena always occurred when his 
digestive organs were in a certain state. But his case 
was submitted to the doctors, and on his being thor- 
oughly bled, the phenomena entirely ceased. Persons 
in typhoid fever often used expressions like ' We are 
thirsty,' 'Give us some drink' — adopting the plural 
form, like Mr. Whiting and other mediums ; but physi- 
cians understood this to be the result of disease ; and 
thus is the foundation of these assumptions of spirit 
influence knocked away, and the whole shown to be a 
fallacy. 

" Dr. Gardner wished to know of the professor 
whether the apostles did really see Moses and Elias on 
the Mount of Transfiguration, as is asserted ; or was it 
an illusion of the senses proceeding from their state of 
health at the time ; and would an operation in phle- 
botomy have removed the conviction from their minds 
that they really saw those spirits, and thus proved it 
all a fallacy. 

" The professor denied that there was any analogy 
between the cases — thought that the Bible instances 
were entirely out of the question — a separate and dis- 
tinct affair. 



76 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

" Professor Grimes, ' the Phreno-Geologist,' thought 
it more extraordinary to suppose that the 'young man 
had composed the poem delivered that evening im- 
promptu, than to believe it came from a spirit. Here 
was something wonderful, if it were really true that 
Mr. Whiting had no knowledge beforehand of the sub- 
ject matter. He questioned the originality of the poem. 
Professor Felton said he would do Mr. Whiting the 
justice to say that the production was entirely original." 
The professor himself selected the subject; so there 
could be no collusion about it. 

" After a session of over two hours and a half, which 
engaged the constant and earnest attention of the large 
audience, the meeting adjourned." 

So much for his public labors in Boston at this time. 
He made many new acquaintances during his stay, 
among whom may be mentioned two or three well- 
known laborers in the spiritualistic ranks ; Frederick L. 
H. Willis, whose expulsion from Harvard College was 
then a quite recent event ; Thomas Gales Forster, who 
was one of the editors of the " Banner " at that time ; 
and Mrs. Henderson, a trance speaker. Of the latter 
he says, — 

" I heard her at a funeral ; was much pleased. O, 
how much more beautiful on such occasions are the 
consolations of a spiritual gospel than it is to hear 
preached the old philosophy of an eternal or temporary 
sleep and final resurrection ! How much more consoling 
to realize that the dear departed one still hovers near 
to guard, guide, and instruct, still bringing to the souls 
of earth garlands of beauty plucked in bowers of affection. 
How appropriate upon such occasions to hear one 
speak, who, having tasted death, is consequently pre- 



EXTRACTS FROM THE BOSTON PRESS. 77 

pared to give an explanation of its realities, telling what 
lies beyond the valley as none other can ! " 

The last of December he left Boston for Providence 
to fulfill a second engagement of four Sundays. At the 
expiration of that time he went to Baltimore for the 
first time, and thence west to St. Louis, and down the 
river to Memphis, Tenn., and other southern towns 
and cities. This was his first trip south of St. Louis, 
and he enjoyed it very much. He says, — 

" I spent the time pleasantly and profitably to myself, 
and I trust to them and the cause of truth also." 

Educated in the shadow of Faneuil Hall and the 
"Boston Liberator," where, by most people, slavery 
was regarded as the " sum of all villainies," and the slave- 
holder as a sort of half-human monster, he was naturally 
on the lookout for some of those horrors which he had 
heard so often and graphically depicted. The result 
of his observations on the subject he records as fol- 
lows : — 

" During this trip I had a chance to see more of 
slavery than I ever saw before ; find it is quite a 
different thing from what it is described to be in the 
" Liberator " and " Tribune." The negroes are gener- 
ally well treated and cared for, and contented with their 
condition. The negroes of Memphis, in particular, are 
a fine-looking set ; would contrast favorably with free 
negroes anywhere. One day, seeing an advertisement 
which said that there would be a public sale of slaves 
that morning, I dropped in to see for myself what has 
been so often described by others, some giving one view, 
others differing widely. Of the number sold none 
seemed to care anything about it. I heard no shrieks, 
saw no tears, nothing terrible, save the idea of selling 



78 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

men. The slaves generally were a jovial set, and the 
auction was a very different affair in reality from what 
it is described to be by those who have never seen for 
themselves." 

April 1st he was obliged to turn his reluctant feet 
northward to fill engagements at Attica and Delphi, 
Ind. He would gladly have tarried longer in the 
Sunny South, whose climate was so delightful to him, 
but he was always scrupulously exact in keeping ap- 
pointments, even at great sacrifice of personal comfort. 
He was somewhat compensated, however, in this in- 
stance, for physical discomfort, in the good appreciation 
of his labors at the above-mentioned places, and returned 
home in May, well satisfied with the work of the past 
eight months. In his retrospective glance over his stay 
in the " land of cotton and sweet potatoes " he says, — 

"Farewell, home of magnolias and mocking-birds, of 
lovely ladies and whole-souled men. Farewell to ' Old 
Tennessee.' I hope not ' forever ; ' but, however that 
may be, in memory will still a place be found for each 
loved friend north and south. There they will repose 
with no sectional differences to divide ; for all good 
friends are dear to me in proportion to the amount of 
real mental affinity existing, not depending upon the 
place where they were born or the peculiar political 
views they may entertain. . . . 

" The past is past: regret or exultation are alike un- 
availing. Man is controlled by a law which he can 
neither evade nor alter. Many things, which we mourn 
as evils at the time they occur, we recognize in after 
years as blessings. Thus it has been with myself as re- 
gards many events in the past ; so I trust it will be in 
the future. 



IN NE W ENGLAND A GAIN, 79 

" Man is subject to the same great law that controls 
all other forms of life. Each person fills his own place 
— is a part of the great whole. There is a fatality that 
governs the life and destiny of every human being ; but 
we also have a freedom to investigate and search for 
knowledge. My prayer is, that I may be led into truth. 
I have not a single opinion which I would not willingly 
exchange for a better." 



CHAPTER VII. 

IN NEW ENGLAND AGAIN. — SIGNS OF PROGRESS. — 
RECALL HO^IE IN JANUARY, 1859. — SICKNESS AND 
DEATH OF HIS FATHER. — SORROW AND CONSOLA- 
TION. 

On the 1st of June, 1858, lie again returned to 
New England, speaking first in Boston, and spending 
the balance of the summer in that vicinity. He found 
that much progress had been made during six months 
toward organized effort. In twenty-five places, within 
a radius of as many miles of Boston, regular meetings 
had been established, and were flourishing. The de- 
mands upon his time were far greater than he could 
meet, and he only took time for two weeks' rest at home 
in September, and resumed his labors in Providence in 
October. It was during this engagement there that he 
first had the pleasure of listening to Emma Hardinge, 
who then, as now, ranked among the ablest and most 



80 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

eloquent exponents of the Spiritual Philosophy. It is 
one of the unavoidable deprivations of a lecturer's life 
that he can so seldom listen to the public efforts of his 
friends and co-laborers. Many of his life-long friends 
he may perhaps never hear more than once or twice, if 
at all. Such was the case with my brother, as with 
many more, doubtless, whose whole time was given 
to the public. His engagements from this time until 
the ensuing January included Portland, Me., Bos- 
ton, New Bedford, and Waltham, Mass., Providence, 
Newport, and Westerly, R. I., and Willimantic, 
Conn. Near the latter place he saw some remark- 
ably powerful physical demonstrations through the 
mediumship of a little girl, of which he says, " She 
placed her hands on a large stove, which I could not 
lift. It bounded to and fro in answer to questions, 
lifted up, and finally, as we were about to depart, the 
front part of it rose at our request, and shook hands with 
all present — a very wonderful proof of the power of spirit 
over inert matter." At New Bedford he also witnessed 
an unique musical manifestation. A harp fastened under 
a table was made to play most beautiful music without 
the aid of mortal hands — a fact that could not be ques- 
tioned, as the room was brilliantly lighted, so that the 
concurrent testimony of the senses of sight and hearing 
was available. 

He had intended, on closing his labors in New Eng- 
land, to go thence to Baltimore, and spend the winter 
in the South ; but across the mystic " mental telegraph " 
flashed the urgent message, "Come home!" and, though 
he had received no outward intimation that all was not 
well, he obeyed the summons. He found on his arrival 
that a letter had just been dispatched recalling him on 



SORROW AND CONSOLATION. 81 

account of the illness of our father, who was again suffer- 
ing from a cancer, which had been operated upon the 
preceding summer, and, as was supposed, cured, but 
had broken out in more malignant form. From this 
time — January 12, 1859 — he devoted himself to the 
care of our suffering parent, speaking, a portion of the 
Sabbaths, at places within a day's journey of home, — 
Albion, Jackson, &c, — until May 1, and after that re- 
maining at home entirely, until, on the 24th, death came to 
relieve the sufferer. Our father's last days were illu- 
mined by spirit presence and recognition; and it was 
a source of great pleasure to him, that his son could also 
see those who waited to receive his freed spirit. 

Extract from Journal, June 1, 1859. 

" In our bereavement we find in the Spiritual Philos- 
ophy a holy and real consolation. How much more 
beautiful than the cold materialism of the world, or the 
superstition of the church, come the sweet tones of the 
angel band, to cheer the earthly mourner when death 
takes the loved ones from our outer vision. I have been 
blessed with seeing my father! O, the deep, soul- 
thrilling joy of spirit vision ! For years it has been dear 
to my soul ; but it is immeasurably dearer now that I 
have this new tie to bind me to the higher life. When 
music's soft notes fill the air, angel voices mingle with 
the song and prolong the sweet melody. By day and 
night, in sorrow and in joy, I feel the presence of spirits 
immortal, among whom now stands my beloved father. 
O that all might behold with me the reality of spirit 
presence and communion ! Although the form my 
father once wore is in its mother earth, I know the im- 
mortal spirit still lives ; that, though death may prostrate 
6 



82 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

the body, and time cause it to mingle with its kindred 
elements, the soul, the real man, eternal in its essence, 
shall exist eternally, and not only live, but love and 
grow in knowledge, power, and happiness through un- 
ending progress." 

The above allusion to angel voices refers not only to 
the general fact, that he often heard them, but also to 
the particular circumstance, that, on the evening when 
we last sang together beside our father's bed, the voices 
of unseen singers blended with ours and were distinctly 
audible to us all. 

Desiring to remain with us as much as possible, and 
still continue his public labors, my brother gave no time 
to idle sorrow, or even to needed rest of mind and body, 
but, June 1, entered upon a three months' engagement at 
Lyons, Mich., which place was at that time the residence 
of Colonel D. M. Fox, in whose family he was hospitably 
entertained. The only event of account that occurred 
there was a correspondence with a Methodist minister, 
the Rev. R. Sapp, which arose from an anonymous letter 
of the latter to the " Ionia Gazette," in which paper 
the reply and consequent rejoinders were also published. 



ENGAGEMENTS. 83 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A TRIP BEGUN WITH STRANGE EXPERIENCES, AND 
PREMATURELY ENDED. — THE REVENGE OF OUT- 
RAGED NATURE. — THE DEATH-TRANCE AND WEARY 
JOURNEY HOME. — CONVALESCENCE. — DEBUT AS AN 
AUTHOR. 

On the last of September, he started out on what he 
intended should be a long tour, as he had engagements 
in the East and South reaching to the following spring. 
That this expectation was not fulfilled will appear in 
due time. The very outset of his journey was marked 
by a curious adventure, of which the following is a 
brief account: — 

Journal. 

" I started from home late in the afternoon to walk 
to the station — nearly five miles distant — in time for 
the evening train. It had been a beautiful day, but 
when I had gone about half the distance, heavy clouds 
suddenly gathered in the sky. It began to rain, and 
grew dark as pitch. I was obliged to go entirely by 
sense of feeling, until there arose before me — out of 
the ground apparently — a pale blue light, about the 
size of a common lantern. It lighted a place large 
enough for me to walk, and kept the same distance in 
advance till I got to Napoleon Village, then burst and 
disappeared. I was still half a mile from the station. 
4 What shall I do ? ' thought I, i without my spirit Ian- 



84 BIO GRAPH T OF A. B. WHITING. 

tern.' A voice answered, ' You will see in due time.' 
The next I knew, I was standing on the railroad, about 
two rods from the depot door. I went in, and discov- 
ered, to my astonishment, that I was not wet, except 
the outside of my boots and bottoms of my pants, and 
that I had traversed the entire distance in five minutes 
less than an hour. I did not feel any inconvenience 
from weariness, and took no cold." 

His first point was Willimantic, Conn. He filled his 
engagements there and at Providence, speaking also, 
week evenings, at Pawtucket and Spragueville. But 
the trials and fatigues of the last few months had worn 
upon him heavily, and a cold taken in Providence 
opened the way for disease to attack the feebly garri- 
soned citadel of life. Still he struggled to keep up, 
and entered upon an engagement at Putnam, Conn., 
the first Sunday of November. On the succeeding 
Tuesday he was taken very sick with congestion of the 
lungs, and the following night, to all appearance, died. 
Until almost morning he lay in a death-like trance, but 
not unconscious, as it seemed. Of his sensations he 

says, — 

Journal. 

" I was a spirit with immortal beings. I could see 
my body as it lay upon the bed, cold and lifeless. I 
thought of my mother and sister at home, dependent 
upon me ; of their deep sorrow when they should hear 
of my departure. The spirits around me were con- 
versing together. Some said, 4 Let him stay with us ! ' 
Others said,- 6 No ! let him go back to earth and fulfill 
his destiny.' Then my guardian spirit said, ' He shall 
return to earth.' I recognized, among those around, 



S/CKA T £SS. 85 

the tall Indian chief, — one of the first four spirits 
who appeared to me, — and a number of others whom 
I knew ; but soon one approached whom I had never 
seen, — a man of venerable and majestic aspect. He 
was attended by a numerous company of spirits, and 
eagerly greeted, as if expected, with the request, ' Aid 
us to restore to earth this wandering mortal.' I saw a 
green and yellow light fall upon my dead body, and I 
knew no more till I awoke in the form. I was cold 
and stiff, and could not move for a long time ; but 
gradually warmth and feeling returned, and the next 
day I arose and told the astonished friends that I was 
going home. They said I could not possibly live to get 
there, and, indeed, gave me no hope of recovery if I 
remained. I knew I must go; so I coolly replied, 
4 Well, I won't die here,' and started on Thursday 
morning. I arrived at Niagara Falls Friday, where I 
found my old friend, Judge Manchester, — formerly of 
Providence, — and in his excellent family rested until 
Monday. Then, though even more feeble, and against 
the wishes of my kind host, I continued my journey, 
and reached home the Tuesday following, more dead 
than alive." 

For weeks life and death hung trembling in the bal- 
ance, and when at length the crisis was passed, and he 
began to recover, the most sanguine of our mundane 
physicians foreboded that he would never be able to 
resume his public labors. But his angel guides said, 
"Hope for the best;" and, thanks to their care and 
advice, that hope was fulfilled. 

During the winter, while still confined to the house, 
he prepared for publication a pamphlet of about one 



86 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

hundred pages, entitled " Religion and Morality: a 
Criticism upon the Character of the Jewish Jehovah, 
the Patriarchs, Prophets, Early Church Fathers, Popes, 
Cardinals, Priests, and Leading Men of Catholic and 
Protestant Churches, with a Defense of Spiritual- 
ism ; " and, as the title indicates, was an expose of the 
absurdity and weakness of the wholesale charges of 
immorality preferred against Spiritualists and mediums, 
— and ascribed to their belief, — by the representatives 
of the popular theology, which reverences men as par- 
ticularly chosen of God, whose practices would be con- 
sidered, in any other persons, as highly immoral and 
reprehensible. It showed from statistics that there was 
less crime among the Spiritualists than any denomina- 
tion, in proportion to numbers, and that their teachings 
necessarily inculcate and foster the highest morality by 
declaring that virtue is the only path to happiness here 
or hereafter, that vice brings its inevitable penalty. It 
admonished certain reverend claimants of extra moral- 
ity, that if the derelictions of individuals were to be 
charged upon the form of religion which they advo- 
cated, the result would be far more damaging to their 
claims than to those upon whom they sought to throw 
disgrace and opprobrium. The work had a large sale 
at the time, but has now been out of print some time. 
He intended to have prepared a revised and enlarged 
edition for republication ; but other occupations pre- 
vented him from carrying out that intention, though he 
had carefully collected data for the purpose. 



THE NEW SPIRIT GUIDE. 87 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE NEW SPIRIT GUIDE. — THE TWO PORTRAITS. — 
REMOVAL TO ALBION. — EARLY ACQUAINTANCE WITH 
DR. SLADE. — DEBATE WITH REV. JOSEPH JONES AT 
DECATUR, MICH. — KENTUCKY IN WAR TIME (SEP- 
TEMBER, 1861). — LEGALLY ORDAINED, JULY, 1862. 

The book was published in March, 1860, and he 
began gradually to resume lecturing, speaking only- 
Sundays, and in places within easy distance of home ; 
Port Huron, Jackson, Albion, Kalamazoo, &c. In April, 
having disposed of the Brooklyn homestead, he re- 
moved with mother and sister to a pleasant place in 
Albion, which was his home for the remainder of his 
earth life. 

The venerable spirit, spoken of in the preceding 
chapter as first seen by him on the night of his death 
trance at Putnam, Conn., continued to visit him, and 
at times would control him to tell perfect strangers 
their history past and present, and to a great extent 
the future also, giving sometimes important advice, 
which, when followed, invariably accomplished the re- 
sult foretold. Many whom his clear sight has relieved 
from danger or difficulty, in different parts of the 
country, during the last twelve years, will remember 
with gratitude the " Old Man." This was the name 
by which he was known, at his own request, as, his real 
name was difficult of pronunciation. He was an Egyp- 



88 BIOGRAPHT OF A. B. WHITING. 

tian by birth, educated in Persia in all the learning of 
the Magi, was versed in the mysteries of spirit commu- 
nion, and hence called by the church a magician, and 
on one of his visits to Rome was imprisoned by the 
command of the reigning pope, and doomed to the 
flames, for dealing in magic and forbidden arts. But 
the powerful spirits that surrounded him opened his 
prison doors, and he escaped to Persia, where he de- 
parted this life at the age of one hundred and twenty. 
He is known to history as " The Old Man of the Moun- 
tain " —-the last chief of that title ; but his history is 
little known, and what has been preserved is distorted 
by the pens of his enemies — the church historians. 
He lived on earth in the twelfth century and beginning 
of the thirteenth. He spoke and wrote, not only Egyp- 
tian and Persian, but Arabic, Greek, Latin, and Old 
French. He spoke English quite imperfectly at first, 
and always with a peculiar guttural accent, and never 
wrote it. He often made himself visible, not only to 
mediums, but to those who never saw any other spirit. 
Of his power of reading persons, he said, " I can read 
their past and present like an open book, and from the 
tendencies and circumstances there revealed, the char- 
acter of the person, and other data and relations, I can 
forecast the future much as you would calculate and 
solve a mathematical problem, and with the same accu- 
racy. I do not claim infallibility. An error may occur 
in the figures of the most practiced mathematician ; so 
there may in mine, but with about the same infrequen- 
cy, I never say anything positively of which I am not 
as certain as I am that ' figures cannot lie.' " 

The preceding year my brother had obtained, through 
the mediumship of W. P. Anderson, the spirit artist, a 



THE TWO PORTRAITS. • 89 

finely-executed portrait of his Italian guide, Farini. It 
was drawn in the city of Jackson, and completed in two 
hours, though the work is elaborate, and includes con- 
siderable vine-work, aside from the head, and has won 
merited admiration from all classes of people, including 
artists and connoisseurs of no mean pretensions. 

Now he desired greatly to obtain also a picture of 
the "Old Man;" and the latter said, " I will go and 
sit for my portrait on such a day." My brother ac- 
cordingly wrote to Mr. Anderson, that on a certain day, 
a spirit (not saying who) was to sit for a portrait for 
him, and to forward the result, if any were obtained. 
Mr. Anderson was then at La Salle, 111. The appointed 
day passed, and the spirit reported that the sitting had 
taken place, and a good likeness was obtained, but not 
so nicely finished as Farini' s. In due course of mail 
the picture came, and was exactly as described. 

About the time of our removal to Albion, a literary 
association there was debating the subject of the Origin 
of Man and Unity of the Races, and considerable inter- 
est had been aroused in the community by the partici- 
pation of several of the college faculty and other well- 
read men. My brother was induced to take part in 
the discussion, which continued several evenings, and 
evoked much thought upon subjects usually not much 
regarded by the masses. In the month of April he 
returned to Chicago to lecture, after an interval of 
nearly three years, dedicated a new hall for the society, 
and spoke five Sundays, and, consequently, was in the 
city during* the session of the Republican Convention, 
which he looked in upon, and chanced to be present 
when the name of Abraham Lincoln was put in nomi- 
nation for the presidency. He spent the month of 



90 BIOGRAPHT OF A. B. WHITING. 

June in Port Huron, St. Clair, and Kalamazoo, and on 
his return home met, for the first time, Mr. J. G. Fish, 
formerly a Baptist clergyman, but then a Spiritualist 
lecturer, and since widely known in that capacity. 
Next he attended a grove meeting near Eaton Rapids, 
in connection with two other speakers — Rev. A. W. 
Mason, of Pulaski, a progressed Universalist, and W. 
F. Jamieson. The remainder of the year 1860 he 
spent mostly in Michigan, the only exception being a 
short trip, by way of St. Joseph, to Chicago, La Salle, 
and Dixon, 111., and Davenport, Iowa, lecturing nearly 
every Sunday, and occasionally on week evenings, 
though in this he was somewhat cautious, in view of 
the sickness brought about by over-exertion the previ- 
ous year. During this time, and more or less subse- 
quently, he was engaged in assisting certain parties in 
important business transactions, which, by the advice 
of the " Old Man," were brought to a successful issue, 
while many other persons received from him advice in 
matters of personal moment, which was the means of 
rescuing them from situations of great difficulty, and 
even danger. In this connection occurred some of the 
most absolute proofs of the beneficent intervention of 
supramundane intelligence that can be imagined ; and 
if the seal of private confidence did not forbid, I could, 
in these facts alone, spread upon these pages an ample 
answer to the question, " What good has Spiritualism 
done ? " — and one that ought to silence forever all the 
absurd charges of " immoral tendency," "breaking up 
families," and the like, that have been the staple argu- 
ments of the opposing world, and too often echoed — 
parrot-like — by those who might know better, if indeed 
they do not. 



DR. SLADE. 91 

At the time of which I write, that most wonderful of 
mediums, Dr. Slade, of New York, resided in Albion, 
and in his presence remarkable demonstrations of spirit 
power were obtained, which were justly considered to 
be conclusive, as evidence of spirit existence and com- 
munion, although the two later phases of his medium- 
ship — independent writing and visible appearances — 
had not yet been developed. The marked feature of 
the tests given in his presence was then, as now, the 
circumstance that all took place in the light, whether it 
was the levitation of ponderable objects, or of the medi- 
um himself ; or, as sometimes occurred, the bringing of 
articles from a distance — such as geological specimens. 
In one instance a ring, which had been lost in Canada, 
was brought to the residence of Dr. Slade, in Albion, 
in the presence of a large company, whom " Owasso" 
had invited to witness the fulfillment of his promise. 
My brother was often present at these seances. 

Among other pleasing incidents of the time just 
passed over may be mentioned the dedication of Mer- 
rill Hall, Detroit, to the use of Spiritualists, where he 
had the pleasure of assisting Mrs. Hardinge in the exer- 
cises of the occasion, and his meeting with E. V. Wil- 
son and Miss Ada Hoyt, in Chicago. At the latter 
place he met with an accident which might have proved 
serious had there been no power to save. Of this he 
says, in his journal, " In going to the depot, I slipped 
and fell down a flight of steps upon the stone pave- 
ment ; but the ' Old Man ' caught me, so I only struck 
lightly on one knee ; and all the harm I got was a little 
skin bruise, instead of a broken limb, as seemed inevi- 
table. People looked astonished to see me walk away 
unhurt, and, doubtless, thought it a providential escape, 



92 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

as indeed it was, though they could not behold the 
helping hand." 

In January, 1861, he made his first trip to Kentucky ; 
and connected with this was a striking and useful test 
of the ability of spirits to transport intelligence in 
advance of the mail. He had written his Louisville 
correspondent that he would be there January 24, if 
desired, and to write immediately. He received no 
answer ; but the " Old Man " said they had written for 
him to come, and would be disappointed if he did not. 
On the strength of that assurance alone, he started on 
a journey of three hundred miles, and found the infor- 
mation true to the letter. But more than this, Dr. 
Slade was then in Louisville, and his Indian guide, 
Owasso, told them that Whiting was on his' way and 
would arrive that night, but had not received the letter. 

He lectured several times in Louisville with good 
success, then went to Frankfort and delivered two 
lectures on Spiritualism, after which a committee waited 
on him with an invitation to speak before the legisla- 
ture, upon the " State of the Country." This he did 
to a crowded house and general satisfaction. He also 
lectured several times at New Albany, Ind., on his re- 
turn. Among many pleasant acquaintances at Louis- 
ville was numbered the veteran journalist, George D. 
Prentice. The next noticeable event was a debate, 
held at Decatur, Mich., with a Methodist clergyman, — 
Rev. Joseph Jones, — upon the question, " Resolved, 
That the origin of modern spiritual phenomena is en- 
tirely hypothetical, and therefore the revelations from 
that source are not at all reliable." At the desire of 
Mr. Jones the Bible was excluded from the discussion. 
The debate continued through three days, March 12, 



EXTRACT FROM JOURNAL, 93 

13, and 14, and was listened to by large audiences, and 
afterward published in pamphlet form, having been 
reported for that purpose by a competent person. The 
latter part of March was spent in St. Charles, 111., and 
the month of April in Rockford, where he was at the 
breaking out of the war, which he deeply deplored in 
common with all who were sufficiently thoughtful to 
realize its nature and foresee its terrible character and 
devastating effects. On the ensuing 4th of July he 
made this entry in his journal : — 

" This is the gloomiest 4th of July I ever spent. 
There is a so-called celebration here. What a solemn 
mockery ! We have no Union, and yet they have a 
farcical representation of thirty-four states, and an ora- 
tion consisting of fulsome praise of Christianity, with 
a bloodthirsty finale. That is the present style of 
preaching ' peace on earth, good will to men.' . . . 
I hope the present Congress, convened to-day, will do 
something for peace. I wish to see the Union preserved. 
If it is, it will be through the Union element at the 
South. If there is no such element they can never be 
subjugated. I regret to see the disposition, on the 
part of a large body of extremists, to accumulate pow- 
er in the hands of the central government to an extent 
incompatible with the genius of free institutions, — to 
rule by the sword ; a scheme which, if successful, can 
not fail to work the subversion of all civil liberty. 
Would that all might feel a true love for their country 
at this terrible and gloomy hour ! " 

In the ensuing September, having leisure time, he 
resolved to visit the scene of hostilities in Kentucky, 
and see for himself the aspect of affairs of which so 
many contradictory reports were received. He found 



94 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

all excitement in Louisville, in expectation of the ap- 
proach of General Buckner with his army, to take pos- 
session of the city ; but the cars ran off the track, and 
left them sixty miles away, and they were obliged to 
retreat. As soon as this news was received, compara- 
tive quiet was restored to Louisville, though war regu- 
lations were enforced to a certain extent, and troops 
were pressed forward with all possible dispatch. He 
found much division in public sentiment, extending even 
to families — parent arrayed against child, and brother 
against brother, — a state of things that brought home to 
the heart most forcibly the horrors of civil war. Gen- 
eral Sherman showed him every attention, both there 
and at the federal camp at Nolin, where there were, 
at that time, forty thousand troops ; and as his railroad 
friends furnished him free passes over all the routes, he 
had ample opportunity to examine for himself the situ- 
ation, in all its dreary aspect. He visited all the points 
of interest, including the secession camp, in Owen 
County. He found many friends in both armies, and 
he held their confidence equally inviolate, as he was 
laying up in his mind matter for future reference, for 
his own information and instruction, and not for the 
use or abuse of any other person or party. 

After his return from this tour, he spent the rest of 
the fall and winter in comparative quiet, only lecturing 
occasionally at various points in this state and at Tole- 
do, O. The last of March, 1862, he started on a trip 
to Detroit and Port Huron, which was extended to 
London and Sparta, C. W. Of this I shall give his own 
account. 



DEBATE ON SPIRITUALISM. 95 

Extract from Journal. 

" At Detroit I heard the Rev. Father Smarius, the 
great Jesuit priest, lecture against Spiritualism. His 
lecture was able, but full of misrepresentations and rid- 
icule, though not as abusive as the generality of Protes- 
tant lectures upon the same subject. He declined to 
debate the subject at my invitation, and evidently did 
not wish to meet a Spiritualist on a free platform, al- 
though he is willing to meet Protestants in argument. 
I next went to Port Huron and delivered a course of 
lectures. The friends at London sent out a man for 
me to go there and meet a Methodist minister, who was 
battling Spiritualism. I always like to attend to all 
such cases ; so I went, and arrived in time to hear the 
Rev. James Scott lecture against Spiritualism, before a 
society called ' The Young Men's Christian Union.' 
There were but two or three persons in the house who 
knew of my presence. When the reverend gentleman 
had concluded, it was announced that the subject was 
open to debate in ten minute speeches, and a member 
arose and said that there was a stranger present who 
would, if invited, make a few remarks. The president 
assented ; so I gave them ten minutes' worth of Spiritu- 
alism. Then another reverend got up and said a few 
words, and the meeting adjourned in a hurry. There- 
upon my friends blackguarded them so for showing the 
white feather, that Scott finally agreed to meet me in 
debate, the platform, rules, &c, to be decided upon by 
a joint committee of three of my friends and three of 
his. They met, but could not agree. Then several 
letters passed between us, but to no purpose. I went 
to Sparta and gave three lectures, and on my return 
Scott sent in a proposition as follows : ; Resolved, That 



96 BIOGRAPHT OF A. B. WHITING. 

modern Spiritualism is a delusion, and contrary to, and 
not in accordance with, the Scriptures.' My friends 
immediately accepted in my name, and called the joint 
committee to arrange rules of debate, when they backed 
square down on their own proposition. Before I left 
London I sent Mr. Scott a letter, in which I told him. I 
would debate with him any time when he got ready, if 
that time ever came. I had an excellent time ; gave 
three lectures to full houses. The mayor of the city 
presided at my meetings, and took an active interest in 
all the proceedings. I had a good time also at Sparta, 
where Messrs. Harvey, Reynolds, and Pace are active 
members, not to forget old General McCleod, whose 
stories of his campaigns under Wellington, and during 
the patent war in Canada, were to me full of interest. 
On my return home, I paid Dr. Slade a visit at Jack- 
son ; found him well located and doing a thriving 
business." 

The July following, he received from the Religio- 
Philosophical Society of St. Charles, 111., a certificate of 
ordination as a minister of the gospel, with authority 
to solemnize marriages, &c, which placed him upon 
terms of legal equality with the clergy of all denomina- 
tions. 

I believe his was among the earliest regular ordina- 
tions made by a Spiritualist society, though not many 
years later many lecturers were recipients of similar 
certificates. But the legally organized societies were 
then very few compared to the present number, and 
hence few had authority to confer ordination. 



A COMPOSER OF MUSIC. 97 



CHAPTER X. 

AS A COMPOSER OF MUSIC. — PUBLICATION OF THE 
FIRST EIGHT OF HIS SONGS. — DEBATE WITH AN 
ADYENTIST AT GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — EASTWARD 
AGAIN (MARCH, 1864). — SPIRIT PICTURES. 

The remainder of the year 1862 was marked by no 
event of especial importance to this narrative. The war 
absorbed the attention of the people to the exclusion of 
all other interests, so that the demand for lectures upon 
any other theme was greatly decreased, and many speak- 
ers in the spiritualistic ranks were driven temporarily, 
and some permanently, to other pursuits. 

My brother became interested with a friend in the 
boot and shoe business in Albion, — a branch of trade 
of which he had some knowledge, from our father hav- 
ing formerly been engaged in it, — but he never aban- 
doned the lecture field, and during the most of this time 
and the ensuing year had regular Sunday appointments 
at places where he could go on Saturday and return on 
Monday, spending the rest of the week in the store in 
the busy season, unless called away to attend funerals, 
as was often the case. This was a summons which he 
always dreaded, but never refused. His leisure time 
he devoted to music, which was always, to him, recrea- 
tion and delight. He had composed some previously, 
but had taken no pains to write out and preserve his 
pieces. Now he gave more attention in that direction, 
7 



98 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

and in 1863 were composed several of the songs after- 
ward published; among them "Lena De Lorme," and 
u The Land of the so-called Dead." His method of 
composing was somewhat peculiar. He almost always 
composed words and music simultaneously, playing and 
singing the piece until complete, then writing out the 
words ; while the music was not, perhaps, written until 
required for publication. Then it became my task to 
write out and prepare it for the press. He never in but 
two instances adapted music to words already prepared, 
but occasionally composed music first, and words after- 
ward. In the summer of 1863, he had built expressly 
for him, at the manufactory at Kalamazoo, a large piano- 
cased, six octave melodeon, which instrument he always 
preferred to a piano as an accompaniment to the voice. 
The melodeon was sent home in September, and so per- 
fect was its construction and toning that it remains in 
perfect order and tune after a lapse of nearly nine 
years. 

In October, he again visited Kentucky, but did not 
lecture, his business being to bring me home from Louis- 
ville, — where I had been spending some time with 
friends, -** and to take an observation of things in gen- 
eral. 

He next filled a month's engagement at Grand Rapids, 
Michigan, and during the following month, December, 
held a debate at that place with an Adventist preacher 
of some note, Rev. J. M. Stephenson. The question 
discussed was that, " The Bible, reason, and philosophy 
teach the complete and entire cessation of all conscious- 
ness at death," Mr. Stephenson arguing in the affirma- 
tive, according to the received belief of his sect. The 
press and people of Grand Rapids were much interested 



DEBATE ON IMMORTALITY. 99 

in the discussion, as appears from the following brief 
quotations from the city papers : — 

THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, OR CONSCIOUS EX- 
ISTENCE AETER DEATH. 

A debate on the above question will be held at Mills 
and Clancy's Hall, commencing on Wednesday evening 
next, between Rev. J. M. Stephenson, a clergyman of the 
sect known as Adventists, and A. B. Whiting, the well- 
known advocate of the Spiritual Philosophy. 

Mr. Stephenson will argue that " The Bible, reason, 
and philosophy teach the complete and entire cessation 
of all consciousness at death." Mr. Whiting will argue 
the conscious existence of the soul after death. 

To quite a large class of our citizens this debate will 
be possessed of much interest and importance, as tend- 
ing, perhaps, to settle doubts or establish half-formed 
convictions, and, perhaps, to remove errors concerning 
the subject in issue. Others, having clearly-defended 
and well-grounded convictions as to the immortality of 
the soul, will be repaid for attending the debate by wit- 
nessing the novel manner in which the issue will be 
presented from both sides. 

The debate increases in interest every night. It is 
as largely attended as the capacity of the hall will per- 
mit. Both disputants being talented, they are enabled 
to give their hearers a rich intellectual feast. Judge 
Robinson presides at the debate with dignity and grace. 
It is being conducted with the greatest propriety and 
courtesy, both the disputants being finished gentle- 
men, who seem to have an elevated view of the dignity 
of oral discussion of religious or kindred subjects. It is 
a noble thing to behold two men calmly, yet earnestly 



100 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

discussing the greatest question underlying the religions 
of the day. None but moral cowards and religious 
bigots will refuse to listen to a discussion of so impor- 
tant a question. For such there is no room at Mills and 
Clancy's Hall during the continuance of this most in- 
teresting debate. 

The entire debate was phonographically reported 
by W. F. Jamieson, with a view to its publication in 
pamphlet form; but Mr. Stephenson refused his con- 
sent, and it was not published. I regret exceedingly 
that the report was not written out and preserved, as I 
believe it to have contained a rare compendium of the 
proofs of immortality. 

The last of December he again visited Louisville on 
private business, one item of which was to arrange for 
the appearance of the first published of his songs — 
"Lena De Lorme." He was there the memorable cold 
New Year's of 1864, and the following week journeyed 
to Decatur, 111., to lecture — a trip not only seriously un- 
comfortable under the circumstances, but also rendered 
somewhat dangerous by the explosion of a locomotive 
boiler. In the spring he transferred the copyright of 
his published song to the publishing house of H. M. 
Higgins, Chicago, and a new edition was issued, togeth- 
er with two other pieces, " Touch the lute gently " and 
"By the side of the murmuring stream," the group 
bearing the title " Three Heart-offerings." 

The success of these was so marked and encouraging 
as to justify, later in the same year, the publication of 
another group of five songs, under the title of " Spar- 
kling Gems." These comprised "Adieu, Leonore," 
"Leoline," " You well know my beloved," " Land of the 



EASTERN TOUR, 101 

so-called dead," and "Maid of Glenore," and were 
equally well received. The lighter pieces, particularly 
" Leoline," attained to considerable popularity in the par- 
lor and concert-room, — being sung by several prom- 
inent concert troupes throughout the country, — while 
" The land of the so-called dead " gained a more lasting 
reputation in the lecture-room. But the cultivation of 
his musical gifts were incidental, and never allowed to 
interfere with the business of his life, — public speaking, 
— but rather added a grace to it, as he frequently sang 
at the close of his lectures an appropriate piece of his 
music. 

In March, 1864, he started on an eastern tour, spoke 
at Cleveland, and went thence to New York to visit and 
transact some business relating to his books and music ; 
was informed that a large number of the "Debate " had 
been sold for shipment to France and England. 

He lectured during April in Providence, where, among 
other pleasing incidents, he was presented with a beau- 
tiful little scarf-pin, made from an antique gold chain, 
in the form of a crescent surmounted by a star: 
upon these were embossed four crowns, three on 
the crescent and one on the star — all of which 
possessed an heraldic significance which augmented 
its value in his eyes. Any one who heard him lec- 
ture during the last seven years of his life might 
have noticed the glitter of this peculiar ornament upon 
his bosom. He attended the Spiritualist Convention 
held at Clinton Hall, New York, the 11th, 12th, and 
13th of May, where many of the ablest workers in the 
cause were gathered in council, and spent the Sundays 
of that month at Chicopee, Mass. There he had a h'ttle 
experience in the then comparatively new phenomena 



102 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

of spirit pictures, concerning which I will give an ex- 
tract from a letter written home by him at the time. 

Extract from Letter. 

" I was sitting for an ambrotype here the other day, 
and a beautiful little compass appeared on the plate, 
though there was nothing to take it from. I sat again 
another day, and the plate was covered with images, 
more or less perfect, and two small faces, one in profile 
and quite well defined, the other about the size of a gold 
half dollar, immediately above my head. The latter 
has on a turban, and is found perfect when examined 
through a microscope. Both of them I recognize as 
members of the band of Persian spirits who accompany 
the 4 Old Man.' The artist is a young man, just mar- 
ried, and his wife and relatives are all opposed to Spir- 
itualism ; but these phantom pictures have haunted him 
by spells for over a year, and he can't get rid of them. 
He says they are more apt to come for mediums than 
any one else. He has a beautiful one of Miss Lizzie 
Doten, with a spirit beside her ; and the Davenports 
have one, taken here, upon which the fifth hand is as 
plainly visible as their own." 

He spoke in Springfield, Mass., the first two Sundays 
of June, and then returned home. 



SPIRITUAL CONVENTION. 103 



CHAPTER XL 

CHICAGO SPIRITUAL CONVENTION OF 1864. — HIS POSI- 
TION THEREIN. — POLITICAL VIEWS. — LECTURES EST 
CHICAGO DURING THE SESSION OF THE DEMOCRATIC 
NATIONAL CONVENTION. — TRIP THROUGH CANADA. 
— THE CAMPAIGN OF 1864. — FIRST APPEARANCE 
IN THE POLITICAL ARENA. — KENTUCKY IN NOVEM- 
BER. — NOT CAPTURED BY GUERRILLAS. — ABAN- 
DONED PROJECTS. 

Having lectured during July at Grand Rapids and 
Lansing, Mich., on the 8th of August he proceeded 
to Chicago to attend the first " National Convention of 
Spiritualists," which had been called to convene on the 
9th, " for the purpose of deciding upon some plan of 
organization or associative action." His first move, 
on reaching the city and taking rooms at the Sherman 
House, was to have an interview with Mr. Storey, of 
the " Chicago Times," and arrange for the attendance 
of first-class reporters on behalf of that paper, thus 
securing a full and impartial report of the proceedings. 

He had not contemplated attending the convention 
up to within a short time of its assembling, as other busi- 
ness demanded his attention, so that he could only do so 
at considerable personal loss and inconvenience. But 
it was foretold to him that an attempt would be made, 
in view of the coming election, to throw the weight of 
the convention in support of a party, by the introduc- 



104 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

tion of a series of political resolutions ; that a contest 
would ensue, and, if the resolutions passed, the object 
of the convention — namely, organization, — would be 
defeated. Deeply interested in the success and har- 
monious working of the convention, he resolved to leave 
everything, and go, and do what he could to promote 
that object by aiding to prevent, if possible, the intro- 
duction of extraneous and dividing topics. This he 
had some hope might be done from the personal assur- 
ances of many, who, though holding adverse political 
opinions, agreed with him in thinking it necessary that 
harmony should be secured, and the time of the con- 
vention devoted to the important object for which it had 
been called. 

Unfortunately, this hope was not realized. The 
majority, carried away by enthusiastic loyalty and de- 
votion to their own political views, decreed the recep- 
tion of a series of resolutions on the state of the country, 
containing an absolute indorsal of the war, the party in 
power, and their candidate for the presidency. The 
contest being thus forced upon him, he, in common with 
others of different views, was left no honorable alterna- 
tive but to stand up as firmly in defense of his political 
as he ever had of his religious principles. From this 
duty he did not shrink, and, although the majority out- 
numbered the minority nearly seven to one, and the 
galleries were filled by a crowd ready to hiss down the 
unpopular side of the question, he not only gained a 
respectful hearing, but won the admiration of his bitter- 
est opponents by the determined manner with which he 
quelled an incipient clamor in the crowd, and compelled 
their attention. One, who stood opposed to him then, 
describes his attitude upon that occasion — when he de- 



POLITICAL VIEWS. 105 

clared that he would be heard even though he stood 
alone — to have been one of the finest examples of 
moral heroism, and personal power to command an au- 
dience, that it was ever his fortune to witness. It may- 
be mentioned, as an incident eminently characteristic of 
the man, that, after the conclusion of his speech, he 
took occasion to make his way among that portion of 
the audience whence the attempted disturbance had 
arisen. 

The resolutions were passed, — a minority of forty-four 
protesting, and in an ably written document setting 
forth their reasons for dissent, and the convention, after 
much discussion on organization and other matters, ad- 
journed, as had been predicted, without having accom- 
plished that object. He much regretted this result, 
although he had expected it. He saw that it was in- 
evitable under the circumstances, and could only hope 
for better harmony at some future time, when the war 
spirit should be laid. He was deeply pained by the 
bitter spirit displayed by a portion of the majority ; for, 
while he conceded to all an absolute right to their own 
opinions upon political or any other subjects, he did not 
recognize the right of any to force those opinions upon 
a body of persons assembled for an altogether different 
purpose. This he would never do himself, and he be- 
lieved such a course one that no majority could render 
either just or profitable. He had never taken any active 
part in politics, although, as was well known to his 
friends, he had settled convictions on those subjects as 
upon most others. Those views coincided, in the main, 
with those of the leading democratic statesmen from 
the time of Jefferson down. He belonged to a class of 
thinkers who regarded war as a blot upon our civiliza- 



106 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

tion, and the encroachment of military power upon in- 
dividual rights as subversive of civil liberty — the very 
foundation of free institutions. In his travels in the 
different parts of the country, he had been led to ob- 
serve that the differences existing between distant sec- 
tions arose largely from misunderstanding of each 
other's character and motives; and hence he believed, 
that, by conciliation and a better acquaintance, those dif- 
ferences might be reconciled, and their causes peaceably 
removed. Holding these views, he deplored the fatal 
blindness of those party leaders, who, by appeals to 
passion and prejudice, fomented discord, and, finally, 
plunged the country into the horrors of civil war. But 
while he condemned their action, and earnestly desired 
the unity of the republic, he claimed the people's con- 
stitutional right to criticise the acts of public servants 
in time of war, as in time of peace. He could not in- 
dorse the course of the administration, inasmuch as it 
seemed to him in many respects ill calculated to pro- 
mote the end in view, namely, the speedy restoration 
of peace and union. He saw with apprehension the 
growing tendency to centralization in government, and, 
regarded the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in 
peaceful states, and the arbitrary arrest and imprison- 
ment of their citizens, without due process of law and 
in violation of plain constitutional provisions, as a 
usurpation of power which no plea of necessity could 
palliate, and a precedent most dangerous to the liberties 
of the people. He believed that " two wrongs never 
could, under any circumstances, make a right;" hence 
the position which he assumed on this subject, and main- 
tained by argument, not only at the Chicago Conven- 
tion, but upon all suitable occasions. 



LECTURES AT VARIOUS PLACES. 107 

Many good friends lamented that u Whiting had de- 
stroyed his influence and usefulness among Spiritual- 
ists" by advocating views supposed to be unpopular 
among them ; but it was found to be otherwise. And 
I have yet to learn that a fearless defense of principle 
ever permanently injured any person or cause, even in 
the eyes of that so-called capricious monster, the 
Public. He returned to Chicago August 26, and lec- 
tured the ensuing Sunday evening, Mrs. Spence speak- 
ing in the afternoon. The audience was immense ; the 
hall, entrances, and even the sidewalk without, being 
crowded. He remained in the city the ensuing week in 
attendance upon the sessions of the Democratic National 
Convention, meeting many old friends among the dele- 
gates, and making some new ones. Among other pleas- 
ing incidents may be mentioned an interview with Hon. 
Clement L. Vallandigham, whom he met for the first 
time, and of whose integrity, ability, and sterling patriot- 
ism he formed upon that occasion a most favorable 
opinion. 

The following month, September, he made a trip to 
Canada, lecturing at London, and also at a place called 
Mitchell, — a Scotch Presbyterian stronghold, — where, 
for the last time in his career as a Spiritualist lecturer, 
his meeting was disturbed by disorderly conduct on the 
part of the audience. In the early years of Spiritualism, 
as of all other new phases of thought, such things were 
common, though less so in his experience than in 
that of many, on account of his determined manner 
of meeting such demonstrations; but at this late day 
the experience was sufficiently novel to be somewhat 
amusing, as a reminder of the past. Canada was at this 
time thronged with refugees from the States, of various 



108 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

kinds and degrees of consequence, and with United 
States detectives employed in watching over the move- 
ments of such of these as were deemed worth the 
trouble, while the Dominion officials had an eye upon 
both ; the whole making up a drama of life under un- 
usual and peculiar aspects, which could not fail to be 
highly interesting and instructive to the student of 
human nature. On his return, he lectured at Port 
Huron and St. Clair with usual success, and then, ren- 
dered uneasy by the non-receipt of his letters, hastened 
home. But of this more hereafter. 

I have said that he had never taken any part in poli- 
tics before the public, as his time and talents were ab- 
sorbed in another direction, and I will here add that he 
never — then or afterward — took any part in working 
party machinery, further than as a delegate in conven- 
tion ; nor was he ever, though frequently solicited, a 
candidate for any office whatever. Until the campaign 
of 1864 he had never made a political speech, and un- 
der circumstances less extraordinary it is quite possible 
that his voice might never have been heard in the 
political arena. He cared little for names, or candidates 
personally ; but he could not decline, when called upon, 
to expound the principles of constitutional liberty as he 
understood them, and warn the people of the dangers 
attending their violation. Nor did he hesitate to arraign 
the party, or persons, however powerful, whom he 
deemed guilty of such violation, and denounce in the 
most scathing terms that sham loyalty and bogus 
patriotism which, while arrogating to itself a monopoly 
of the virtues, could yet prefer schemes of partisan 
aggrandisement to the peace and prosperity of the 
nation. 



A WEDDING, 109 

During the two weeks last preceding the election, he 
delivered addresses in this and other towns in Central 
Michigan, which added much to his already established 
reputation as an eloquent and able orator. He pre- 
served, in this new field of labor, his own characteris- 
tic style of reasoning from present facts to their inevi- 
table sequences, as illustrated by historical parallels, 
showing how, by the operation of immutable law, simi- 
lar combinations of circumstances invariably produce 
similar results ; that, in fact, history repeats itself, and 
that we can not hope that a course of action which 
resulted disastrously in the past can, in the same rela- 
tions, fail to result disastrously in the future. 

Immediately after the election he set out for Louis- 
ville, to officiate at the marriage of a friend, I being his 
companion. The trip was far from being in all respects 
a pleasurable one, — on account of certain circum- 
stances to be spoken of elsewhere, — although every- 
thing possible was done for our comfort and enjoyment 
by our friends in that city. The wedding was properly 
achieved, including the dinner, which I remember to 
have been a triumph of culinary skill and artistic embel- 
lishment. We remained only two weeks, including a 
trip to Lexington, when we came near being captured 
by guerrillas, — the succeeding train meeting the fate 
which we escaped by what we then supposed was a for- 
tunate chance ; but years after, on a subsequent visit 
to Kentucky, when the war was over, he was informed 
that Ms being on board saved the train that day. And 
this is the story as told to him : — 

The guerrillas lay concealed in the bushes near a 
small station, where one of their number, in the garb 
of a peaceful citizen, was detailed to inspect the train, 



110 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

see if it was provided with a guard, and, if not, to give 
the signal for attack. This man had, before the war, 
met A. B. Whiting, and not only was indebted to him 
for some kindness, but cherished an almost supersti- 
tious reverence for his character and mediumistic 
powers. He saw him standing upon the platform of 
the car, recognized him, and fearing he might be 
harmed in an indiscriminate fire, failed to give the sig- 
nal, and the train passed by in safety. We reached 
Lexington, and returned to Louisville without deten- 
tion, and came home December 1. 

The ensuing months up to May, 1865, he spent 
mostly in this state, speaking at Lansing, Dewitt, St. 
Johns, Ann Arbor, and several other points during that 
time. In the month of February he was called upon 
to stand by the death-bed of Emma, wife of Dr. Slade, 
to perform the last services over her earthly remains, 
and to comfort and sustain his friend under a double 
burden of bereavement, — an only sister having passed 
on but a few months previously. To this office of 
friendship he gave up his lecture engagements for the 
time, and partially on this account cancelled an engage- 
ment at Cincinnati for the month of March. 

During this year, he was in correspondence with 
parties at various points in Colorado and the western 
territories, in contemplation of a tour in that direction 
in the spring and summer of 1865, but finally decided 
to postpone it until some future time, as he then some- 
what expected to visit Europe the ensuing fall. The 
latter project he was also compelled reluctantly to 
abandon, for personal reasons, with the hope of being 
able to carry it out at some other time. This he cer- 
tainly would have done had his life upon earth ex- 
tended over a few more years. 



POLITICAL PERSECUTION. Ill 



CHAPTER XII. 

AN UNWELCOME THEME. — ENEMIES, AND HOW THEY 
WERE BAFFLED. — A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES. 
— SNAKES THAT COULD NOT ENTRAP, AND POISON 
THAT COULD NOT SLAY. — POWERS MUNDANE AND 
SUPRAMUNDANE. 

I must now revert to a subject which I would gladly- 
pass over in silence, did the duty of a faithful historian 
permit ; but it is necessary that it be referred to, as 
having an important bearing upon succeeding events, 
as furnishing remarkable instances of spirit power, and 
as throwing light and glory upon a character at once 
inflexible and magnanimous. I allude to the political 
persecution to which he was subjected during the war, 
and particularly during 1864-5. The extent to which 
this was carried was known to few of his friends, and, 
as we charitably believe, to few of his enemies. I have 
no desire to recall past bitterness by any personal allu- 
sions. Several of those principally involved have passed 
from the earthly stage, and by this time understand 
something of the power that could so signally thwart 
their purposes. Many who took minor parts in the 
drama were actuated by a misapprehension of facts, 
mistaken sense of duty, or excess of partisan feeling, 
and had no idea that the farce in which they were 
assisting might have become a tragedy. Therefore, 
bearing malice toward none, and desiring ever to give 



112 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

the most charitable construction to human motives, I 
shall state merely a few leading facts in this connec- 
tion, omitting names and exact dates for the reasons 
above hinted at, and not from inability to give both 
if I thought best to do so ; for though much that fol- 
lows was first made known to us from spiritual sources, 
in the way of warnings of danger, ample mundane testi- 
mony was subsequently furnished, and some of the facts, 
as will be seen, were within my personal knowledge. 

At even this short distance of time, it seems almost 
incredible that a state of things should have existed in 
this country, which could render it possible for per- 
sonal or party spite to conspire against the liberty and 
lives of unoffending citizens, under color of public neces- 
sity; but that such things were, we, who saw them, 
know. 

From the outbreak of the war, he, in common with 
many others, who, amid the general rage, dared to 
speak for peace, was exposed to the hatred of a set of 
persons who had but one word for all opinions differing 
from their own, and that word treason. He was fre- 
quently threatened, either openly or covertly, with the 
tender mercies of Fort Warren ; but neither threats, 
nor the puny efforts of those who exerted their utmost 
power to compass their execution, troubled him much. 
Relying not only upon firm friends here, but upon the 
powerful protection and guidance of dwellers in the 
upper realms, he went about his business unmoved, and 
seemingly unconscious. Though he was well aware 
that he was shadowed by spies, and his most innocent 
action liable to be distorted by their officious zeal, yet, 
as he had nothing to conceal, he could afford to laugh 
at their waste of time and travel, and even occasionally 



S TRA TA GEMS. 113 

indulge in a little harmless fun at their expense, — 
which he could easily do, as they, of course, did not 
suspect that he was acquainted with their character or 
business. He considered this mode of retaliation legiti- 
mate, since no serious redress was possible in the prem- 
ises, and I think he troubled some of them about as 
much as they did him. His trips to Canada and Ken- 
tucky were watched with especial eagerness by these 
gentry, in the hope — as we guessed then, and after- 
ward ascertained — of finding a mare's nest that might 
be construed into the carrying of rebel correspondence. 
That their industry went unrewarded by discovery, was 
not their fault ; for his circumspectness refused to give 
them as much as a Pickwickian warming-pan to found 
a supposition on. 

Another thing, which annoyed him far more than 
this personal surveillance, was the frequent detention 
of his mail matter, and — as he had every reason to 
believe — its overhauling by parties to whom he had 
never delegated that responsibility. His foreign cor- 
respondence and his own letters home seemed to be 
especial objects of curiosity to some seekers after knowl- 
edge. He noticed that whatever intelligence he im- 
parted in his letters, regarding his future movements, 
quickly became known to his followers. To still fur- 
ther satisfy himself of the truth of his suspicions, by 
agreement with me, he tried the experiment of writing 
home a programme entirely at variance with his real 
intentions, and amusing himself with their consequent 
bewilderment. But a still more direct proof was ob- 
tained by the sending of decoy letters, marked, — I 
being instructed not to open them until his return, 
when he could determine, by examination, whether they 
8 



114 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

had been tampered with since they left his hand. Of 
course this state of things was not particularly pleasant, 
or well calculated to win the affection of the recipient 
of such peculiar attentions ; hence it is not strange 
that the sense of personal outrage confirmed and 
strengthened his opposition to the party which he held 
responsible for introducing into free America the ma- 
chinery of despotism. 

This was the state of things which existed up to the 
fall of 1864, and which, doubtless, accented the deter- 
mined stand taken by him at the Chicago Convention, 
and during the ensuing campaign. His denunciations 
of political spies and informers, as tools of a tyranny 
whose existence was incompatible with the first princi- 
ples of free government, came with the force gained 
from knowledge of that whereof he spoke, and struck 
home so tellingly that he was privately offered an 
appointment to a lucrative office if he would " allow 
himself to be converted from his political errors," while 
disastrous personal consequences were hinted at in case 
of his persistence therein. 

To some minds such a proposition might have 
brought temptation ; but a man who had stood for 
years in the front ranks of an unpopular cause, and, 
even when scarce emerging from boyhood, spurned 
repeated offers of church preferment at the price of 
his religious principles, was little likely, in mature 
manhood, to make a sale of his political convictions. 
Of course the agents, who had thus placed themselves 
to some degree in his power, could not forgive his 
obduracy, and thus the number and virulence of his 
enemies was increased. Had he apprehended the most 
disastrous results that malevolence could devise, it 



THE SECRET CIRCULAR. 115 

would not have shaken his firmness. But one who 
never deceived had said that his life and liberty should 
be held sacred even in the midst of danger. So, with 
firm reliance upon his spirit guards, he went calmly 
and fearlessly on, taking from time to time such pre- 
cautions as his own reason, or their superior knowl- 
edge, suggested as tending to insure his safety. Nor 
were earthly friends wanting, as will be seen ; and thus, 
though perils gathered thick about his way, each was 
successively evaded, and with so little apparent effort, 
that those whose schemes were brought to naught were 
fain to ascribe their defeat to chance. I will not partic- 
ularize at length. Suffice it to say, that from represen- 
tations made at Washington, an order was issued for 
his arrest, which, however, after being delayed at first 
because it was not deemed prudent to attempt to exe- 
cute it in the State of Michigan, where he then was, 
was finally destroyed by the interposition of a lady 
friend, who afterward related the circumstance to him, 
and was somewhat surprised when he told her he knew 
the fact before, though not the person to whose kind- 
ness he was indebted. 

A similar order was issued from the military head- 
quarters at St. Louis, and embodied in a secret circular 
to the several chief detectives, offering a reward of five 
thousand dollars for his capture and delivery at one of 
the principal posts in that department, or for satisfac- 
tory proof of his death. Then followed a description of 
his person and dress, including a peculiar scarf which 
he wore at that time. All that could be construed into 
an accusation in this singular document was comprised 
in the phrase, " suspected of being a rebel mail agent," 
which was appended to his name ; but no accusation 



116 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

was needed where martial law was in force ; hence the 
choice of locality. 

Men were not wanting who were eager to earn five 
thousand dollars, even as the price of blood ; and when 
it was ascertained that he was about to visit Louisville, 
there was great rejoicing at the pleasing prospect of 
seeing their prey walk directly into the trap. So con- 
fident were they, that they quarreled beforehand over 
the division of the spoils — a quarrel which nearly 
proved fatal to him; for one zealous youth determined 
to forestall the rest, and in pursuance of that determi- 
nation, dogged him on his journey southward, intend- 
ing to have him seized in the city of Indianapolis, and 
spirited away with all possible secrecy and dispatch. 
My being with him, and certain circumstances which 
had not been counted on, defeated this brilliant plan. 
The auspicious moment passed. But the prize was 
not to be surrendered so easily. The second clause 
of the order flashed upon the mind of the ambitious 
detective ; he procured a quantity of strychnine, and, 
watching his opportunity, at a little station where we 
stopped for refreshments, poisoned the coffee which had 
been ordered by his intended victim. My brother, 
with a traveler's haste, swallowed a portion of the 
coffee before the warning hand of the spirit guide re- 
strained him ; the warning voice whispered, " It is 
drugged." He disposed of the balance, so that it 
might be' supposed that he had drank the whole, and 
resumed his place in the car, expecting to be very sick, 
— as he was for a short time ; but his powerful spirit 
guide said, " We will soon neutralize the poison." 
And, sure enough, the sickness passed away, and he 
suffered no further immediate inconvenience, thus 



THE SPIRIT GUIDE. 117 

verifying the Scripture promise to them that believe, 
"If they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt 
them." 

Persons skeptical in spiritual things may desire to 
know what were our mundane sources of knowledge 
as to the nature of the drug administered. These I am 
at liberty to state in part to have been, first, medical 
knowledge and recognition of the symptoms induced ; 
and, second, — a proof which has convicted many a 
murderer, — an examination of the residuum of the 
cup ; while the anxious and bewildered looks of the 
would-be assassin confirmed the information as to his 
identity beyond a doubt. I think I hear some innocent 
person inquire, indignantly, why the perpetrator of 
such a crime was not brought to the tribunal of justice. 
Ah, my friend, you little know the state of things 
which existed then and there, or the immense power 
wielded by the secret service, backed by the arm}', if 
you believe such a course to have been possible. But, 
had it been possible, it would only have been striking 
at the instrument of an effect, whose cause would have 
still eluded the grasp of mortal retribution. For this 
poor, tempted man our natural feeling of condemna- 
tion was not unmixed with pity. We never saw him 
more on earth ; but about six years after, when these 
circumstances had in some degree passed from our 
minds, one day he appeared to my brother in spirit, 
related these incidents in proof of his identity, ex- 
pressed sorrow for the wrong done, and was- forgiven. 

But to resume : On our arrival in Louisville, the mem- 
bers of the detective force who had been detailed to watch 
for his coming were by some means thrown off the track, 
mistaking the object of their search for the expected 



118 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

bridegroom, who, as it happened, was stopping in another 
part of the city ; and the mistake was connived at by an 
employee in the secret service, who, for reasons of fami- 
ly friendship, was disposed to be Ms friend, though per- 
sonally a stranger. This individual still further diverted 
their attention by false information, until, warned by 
the " Old Man " that he must remain no longer, A. B. 
Whiting had left the city. The very day of our de- 
parture the enemy made a reconnoissance upon the place 
where we had been stopping, finding no one at home 
but a colored woman, who told them we had all 
gone to Cincinnati (which she supposed to be true, 
as her mistress had really gone thither). So to Cincin- 
nati they posted, while we were speeding northward by 
the most direct route, via Indianapolis. From the 
friendly detective, whose good offices are acknowledged 
above, the confirmation of these facts was obtained, 
together with many details not here set down. Nor 
was this the only unexpected friend that was raised up 
for us upon this extraordinary trip. Soon after we left 
Indianapolis northward, a man called him one side and 
said, " My friend, you are in danger. There are men 
on the train who have instructions to look for you ; but 
they rather expect you have gone another route, and, I 
think, do not know your person. Keep quiet, and they 
may not recognize you, though they have a good de- 
scription. But, if worst comes to worst, you have friends 
at hand who will stand by you and see you safe through." 
This was the substance of this abrupt address, though 
not, of course, the whole, nor the exact words used. 
He was a tall, powerfully-built man, somewhat rough 
in speech, and had several companions, armed, like him- 
self, to the teeth, and intimated that there was a much 



A STRANGE FRIEND. 119 

greater number on the train upon whom he could rely- 
in case of an emergency. Who and what he was, and 
wherefore his interest in our behalf; how he gained 
his information ; whence he came with his band of 
armed men and whither he was going, — are questions 
which he did not see fit to answer, and our conjectures 
are not relevant to this history. Certain it is that he 
fulfilled his promise, and guarded us faithfully and 
effectually, and only bade us good by when we had left 
behind the regions where any overt act was to be ap- 
prehended. Whatever may have been the motive for 
this singular service, it was appreciated and is gratefully 
remembered. 

After this experience, and warned that it would be 
hazardous to do so, my brother did not again venture 
his safety within the boundaries of that department 
while it remained under military rule, but cancelled an 
engagement at Cincinnati on information that its fulfill- 
ment would be the signal for still more desperate at- 
tempts to earn the coveted reward. There was little 
danger of his being openly interfered with in the North, 
as any such proceeding would not only have been liable 
to defeat and punishment at the hands of the law, but 
would have aroused a storm of popular indignation 
which it was not thought politic to brave. His move- 
ments were still closely scanned, however, in the hope 
of some favorable chance occurring, and during the 
winter more than one shrewd plot was hatched only 
to be defeated. But to recapitulate details would be, 
not only useless, but tedious. After a while it began to 
be whispered among " professionals " that to shadow 
Whiting was, not only a difficult, but an unlucky job ; 
that whoever attempted it always came to grief ; that he 



120 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

not only bore a charmed life, but could divine the inmost 
thoughts of his enemies ; and other superstitious inter- 
pretations of the real facts. / 

The nuisance gradually abated, and, though revived 
temporarily during the excitement consequent upon the 
death of President Lincoln, was chiefly maintained by 
amateurs, to baffle whose schemes was child's play to 
one who had successfully coped with some of the most 
skillful plotters in the secret service. 

One word more before I leave this unwelcome subject 
finally : Many will doubtless read this chapter with as- 
tonishment, and wonder how he could have gone on so 
calmly, allowing no sign of disquietude to appear upon 
the surface ; how we could have borne in silence the 
fearful uncertainty that his frequent absence must have 
brought. It is, in one sense, an instance going to 
prove what I believe to be true, that the human mind 
can endure, and become in some degree accustomed to, 
any state of things which exists around it, and to which 
it can devise no remedy. But in our case it should 
perhaps be added, that the gift of silence is our natural 
heritage, and our reliance upon angel guardianship 
was a rock of strength, to sustain and uphold which, 
was not possessed by many tvho needed it as sorely. 
For he was not the only one subject to similar annoy- 
ances, with as little righteous cause. In times of pub- 
lic commotion, personal and party hatred always seeks 
opportunities to gratify itself under cover of the general 
confusion. The extent and long continuance of the 
persecution in his case were due to several reasons, one 
of which was the fact that it sprang, primarily, from 
two separate and distinct sources ; and another may be 
found in the natural disinclination of the human mind 



MAGNANIMITY. 121 

to submit to defeat, particularly when caused by forces 
whose existence is scarcely realized, and whose opposi- 
tion, however powerful, is silent, and raises no banner 
of victory. But while, as I said, many will peruse with 
wonder, and some, perhaps, with incredulity, the nar- 
rative briefly sketched in the preceding pages, others, 
who, from glimpses behind the scenes, know that the 
half is not told, will be disappointed that I do not fur- 
ther elucidate the secret workings of that detective 
system with which he became so thoroughly acquainted, 
and hold up to public obloquy those responsible for its 
abuses, as well as the persons who instigated the turn- 
ing of its machinery against him. The first I con- 
sider beyond the proper scope of a work which is not a 
" Secret History of the War," but the biography of an 
individual ; therefore, all other reasons being laid aside, 
I should not enter upon it here. Nor do I feel that I 
could do the subject justice. For the second, we are 
not a vindictive race. He could so far forgive his ene- 
mies as to refrain from retorting injury when they were 
in his power, or even rejoicing when misfortunes came 
upon them. His magnanimity changed many foes to 
friends, and enabled him to aid them in the path of 
spiritual progress. Therefore would I throw the mantle 
of charity over their deeds, and, though I cannot forget, 
let their names sink peacefully into oblivion, knowing 
that the guilty will inevitably, here or hereafter, suffer 
the penalty of their misdeeds, and rise purified to a 
nobler life. 



122 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

NEW SUCCESSES IN THE EAST. — WASHINGTON AND THE 
SOUTH AFTER THE WAR. — LECTURES IN CINCINNATI 
AND LOUISVILLE. — PERSONS MET WITH AND THINGS 
SEEN. — J. M. PEEBLES AND THE "WESTERN DE- 
PARTMENT OF THE BANNER OF LIGHT." — CONTEM- 
PLATED DEBATE AT ST. JOHNS, MICH. — HISTORY 
THEREOF. 

In May, 1865, he again took his way eastward, lectur- 
ing during that month in Providence, where the hall 
was too small to hold the people, though the largest in 
the city, and during the following month in Charles- 
town, Mass. His marked success at this time was pe- 
culiarly pleasing to his friends, from the fact that many 
thought that his political views would have destroyed 
his prestige, as a Spiritualist lecturer, in New England. 
But the result proved the contrary ; for, though a few in- 
dividuals were found fanatical and intolerant enough to 
inveigh against him on that account, and advise people 
not to go to hear him, to the credit of Spiritualism be it 
spoken, they were comparatively rare ; and their denun- 
ciations, far from producing any ill effect, induced many 
to attend " just to see what the terrible 4 Secesh ' speak- 
er would say," who were thus treated to a dose of un- 
adulterated Spiritualism, to their lasting benefit. His 
popularity, so far from being diminished, was greatly 
increased, and extended to a wider circle of minds ; for 



RETURN HOME, 123 

the multitude instinctively admire and honor indepen- 
dent thought, and fearless speech. He took not the 
slightest notice of the efforts of detractors, nor did he 
ever upon the spiritual rostrum stoop to vindicate his 
political opinions or defend his unquestionable right to 
hold them. This course, which he facetiously described 
as the maintenance of " calm dignity and solemn 
silence," redounded greatly to his credit, and he often 
recommended it to others in public life, as the best and 
most effectual method of meeting personal attack and 
misrepresentation. 

Between his Sunday lectures at Charlestown he made 
short visits to our friends in Abington and East Bridge- 
water, and also attended a Rhode Island clam-bake at 
South Providence and a picnic at Dungeon Rock, Lynn, 
where two thousand people were gathered for a good 
time. These incidents, with frequent visits to Boston 
and the " Banner " office, filled the time pleasantly, to 
say nothing of the genial society of good friends at 
Charlestown, the names of some of whom are synony- 
mous with hospitality and social enjoyment wherever 
known. 

He returned home early in July, and during that 
month remained at home a large part of the time ; at- 
tended meetings at St. Johns and some other places, but 
did not leave the state again until October, when he 
went to Washington. There he found many changes 
brought about by the rude hand of war, and, as his ob- 
servations at this time may be interesting to many, I 
will give some brief extracts from his letters. 

" The city is changed very much since I was here. 
The avenues about the Capitol look natural, except the 
once beautiful yards, which are disfigured with tempo- 



124 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

rary wooden buildings, some of which are, however, in 
process of removal. In passing the residence of Secre- 
tary Stanton one sees about six armed guards on foot 
and four on horseback, who keep watch over the man 
of sin both by day and night. I should think that his 
dreams would be a little disturbed sometimes. 

" The dome of the Capitol is finished since I was here, 
and there are a number of splendidly executed paint- 
ings in the rotunda, which are the originals of the en- 
gravings on the backs of the national currency. I 
spent a pleasant morning in the portrait gallery con- 
nected with the Attornery General's office. It contains 
life-size portraits of every Attorney General from the 
days of Washington to the time of Johnson, inclu- 
sive. I recognized the personally well-known features 
of Cushing, of Massachusetts, Black, of Pennsylvania, 
Clifford, of Georgia, Butler, of South Carolina, Bates, 
of Missouri, &c, and also the historically well-known 
ones of Randolph, Lee, Legere, and others. 

4 ' Publicly and civilly I have every attention that 
heart could desire ; but Washington is in rather a cha- 
otic state socially. No foreign embassador puts on more 
style than Signor Romero, the minister of the defunct 
Republic of Mexico. I was at the White House to-day, 
and heard President Johnson make a speech from the 
steps, to the First District of Columbia Colored Volun- 
teers. He exhorted them to be civil and law-abiding 
people and show by their lives that they were entitled 
to the freedom which the chance of war had thrust upon 
them. 

" My old friend, Mr. Laurie, is still chief of the Bureau 
of Statistics, Post Office Department, a post he has occu- 
pied twenty-four years, and to which he was appointed 



PERSONS AND THINGS SEEN 125 

by President Jackson. He has the walls of his office 
lined with pictures, many beautiful spirit drawings 
among the number. Yesterday I went out to his resi- 
dence to attend the funeral of his little grandchild, and 
saw there an example of the incidental destruction 
caused by the war, aside from that which resulted from 
actual hostilities. Just before the war broke out, Mr. 
Laurie had moved from his former residence at George- 
town, and purchased and fitted up a beautiful place 
north of the city. When the first troops came on, they 
took possession of his property as a nice location for a 
hospital; for which purpose they kept it until this 
spring. And such a wreck ! All his orchard, all the 
trailing vines, shrubbery, and vineyard. — not a vestige 
left. He has just refenced it and repaired the house so 
he could move back. He says they even destroyed all 
the windows and doors, but, by some strange fatality, 
the beautiful grove of oaks and maples, with the excep- 
tion of a few trees, is unharmed. 

" For all this he has, as yet, received not one cent. 
His bill of damages passed one branch of Congress last 
winter, but was killed by the other. He estimates his 
damages at ten thousand dollars, which I should think 
would not cover actual loss, to say nothing of rent for 
four years. This little item gives a faint idea of the 
immensity of such damages." 

October 21. " I had the pleasure of seeing, at 
Willard's Hotel, yesterday morning, Alexander H, 
Stephens, late Vice-President of the Southern Con^ 
federacy. With the exception of his hair being a trifle 
grayer, he looks much as he did seven years ago. He 
wears the same, or similar, swallow-tailed coat and By^ 



126 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

ronic collar. He calls on the President to-day and 
starts for Georgia to-morrow. 

"I find Spiritualists occupying the most prominent 
positions in every department ; but few, comparatively, 
take any active part in sustaining meetings. They 
might, if they would combine and make themselves 
publicly known, give it a rank and standing equal to its 
claims, and wield a vast power for good. 

" Many wonderful developments have occurred giving 
a key to the ' Old Man's ' operations last winter. If I 
needed anything to make my faith in him stronger, I 
have it here and in the culmination of those events." 

The audiences steadily increased during his stay, and 
he was, on the whole, well satisfied with his month's 
work. 

He went thence to Louisville for the month of No- 
vember, where he was greeted with such crowded 
houses the first Sunday that he wrote home, - — 

" I don't know where I will put the people before 
I get through. Wilson has done great good here in the 
way of stirring up the people. The first meetings were 
got up by the efforts of two individuals, but the society, 
only formed in September, is now doing finely. Many 
of the old Spiritualists, who have not been before this 
season, came last Sunday, and gave in their names." 

As, while at Washington, he visited all points with- 
in convenient access of that city which had an interest 
either from recent events or previous acquaintance, so 
he took this opportunity to traverse portions of the 
South which he had known as blooming gardens, but 
which now were strewn with sad memorials of the clash 
of hostile armies. He undertook this painful task in 
order to gain an exact knowledge upon certain subjects, 



THOUGHTS ON WAR. 127 

concerning which there were many conflicting state- 
ments afloat through the country, and not from mere 
curiosity or desire to tread in the track of notable 
events. 

The scenes of great acts in life's drama are, to the 
thinker, full of instruction. 

Let him who would seek glory in war go, stand 
upon some lonely battle-field from which the tramp of 
armies has died away, and see how time and nature 
strive to heal and cover up the unsightly wounds and scars 
that tell the sad tale of strife and bloodshed. Mark yonder 
trees, seamed and shattered by shell and ball ; how gal- 
lantly they have endeavored to deck their disfigured 
limbs with foliage, though, to some of them, it was the 
last effort of expiring life. See how the grass has crept 
over and softened the rude outlines of the trenches 
where the deadly charge was made, while flowers and 
trailing vines wrap in tender embrace the moldering 
relics of the half-buried dead. Then turn and view 
the change and desolation wrought in happy homes, and 
apply the lesson — that war, so far from being a sub- 
ject of boasting, is a misfortune to be deplored ; and in- 
stead of tearing open the half-closed wounds, seek 
rather to bring the healing balm of peace and forgetful- 
ness to the many stricken hearts that are everywhere 
amongst us. 

He found, literally, a land of mourning, where the 
story of loved ones slain and fortunes swept away was 
the rule, and not the exception; where cities were in 
ashes, and fields overgrown with weeds ; yet whose 
people were striving bravely to cover up the scars, and, 
by a renewal of their industries, to open a way out of 
their present state of poverty and exhaustion. Many 



128 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

whom lie had known when they stood on the top rounds 
of fortune's ladder, were beginning again at the bottom, 
reduced to till the bare land which was the only rem- 
nant of vast wealth, and even that held by an uncertain 
tenure. He saw, indeed, with pleasure, a disposition 
on the part of capitalists of more favored sections to 
come to the aid of reviving trade and commerce, and 
could not resist the thought, that such kindly policy — 
the hand outstretched to help in the hour of need — 
would do more to bind together and perpetuate the 
Union, than all the elaborate schemes of reconstruction 
that the most ingenious mind could devise. 

His friend Dr. Ferguson had returned from Europe, 
where he had been with the Davenport brothers, and 
was in Nashville, but he missed seeing him, to his great 
regret. He spoke at Salem, Ind., four evenings the 
last of November, and at Evansville a portion of Decem- 
ber ; of which place he says, — 

" This is one of the dirtiest towns I ever saw, and its 
theology is about as bad ; but there are a few whole- 
souled friends here to save the city." 

With only a short visit home he returned to Louis- 
ville, January 1, 1866, where, as before, crowded 
houses greeted him, especially on Sunday evenings. He 
also gave a course of Friday evening lectures on sub- 
jects of a literary character, the proceeds of which he 
donated to the society to aid them in purchasing an 
organ, and spoke one evening at Jeffersonville, Ind., 
and three evenings at Alton, a little place seventy miles 
clown the river, on the Indiana side. He remained at 
Louisville until April, with the exception of a week's 
visit home in February. During a portion of the time 
E. V. Wilson was lecturing at New Albany. Dr. Slade 



CELEBRATED MEDIUMS. 129 

spent a week in the city, examining the sick and hold- 
ing circles ; and quite a number of other noted medi- 
ums were spending more or less time there or in the 
vicinity. Among them were Dr. Warren, the healer, 
Mr. and Mrs. Ferris, of Toledo, and the famous Col- 
chester ; also a lady medium from Richmond, Ind., of 
whom he wrote home as follows : — 

" Her manifestations consist in giving names and 
communications from individual spirits. The first time 
I saw her she gave the names of about fifteen of our 
ancestors : Sir Thomas Gardner, Benjamin Gardner, and 
Leah Gardner among the number ; also brother Willie ; 
but, the most wonderful of all, she remarked ' there is a 
spirit here who says he is your grandfather French, and 
husband to the Leah Gardner, but has another wife in 
the spirit world.' She then described him correctly, 
long nose and all." 

The gentleman spoken of was our mother's step- 
father, and always called by us "grandfather French," 
and was a person of rather marked appearance ; hence 
the peculiar force of the test. 

He was also much interested in listening again to the 
musical prodigy "Blind Tom," whom he had heard 
some years previously, soon after his power was first 
developed, and when it was little known beyond the 
immediate circle of his master's family and friends. 
With regard to him and the medium Colchester, I will 
give brief extracts from letters. 

March 12. " Blind Tom is to be here this week, so 
I shall hear him once more. Colchester, the great 
medium of Buffalo-persecution notoriety, appeared 
with him at Cincinnati, or rather gave a seance at the 
close of Tom's concert. Colonel Oliver, Tom's master, 
9 



130 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

shocked the Orthodox people by telling them he, be- 
lieved that Tom was influenced by the spirit of Bee- 
thoven." 

March 26. "I closed my labors here last night. 
Crowded don't begin to express the condition of the 
hall. Fortunately it was a cool night. A gentleman 
was here last week from Memphis, commissioned to 
take me back with him to speak the next two months ; 
but previous engagements prevent. Colchester is creat- 
ing a great interest here. I have seen his manifesta- 
tions, — writing on the arm, &c, — and they are Very 
wonderful. He is one of the best test mediums I ever 
saw, but very negative, and subject to every influence 
that comes along, — earthly as well as spiritual." 

The month of April had been designated to fill the 
long deferred engagement at Cincinnati ; so thither he 
went direct from Louisville. He found the society 
there progressing finely. 

Under date of April 9, he wrote, " Yesterday we 
held services in the beautiful new Academy of Music, 
which the society have engaged for the coming year. 
We had a large audience. Dr. Ferguson, of Nash- 
ville, was here, and spoke after me last night. I had a 
very pleasant visit with him. They have a good choir, 
which adds much to the meetings, and last Sunday we 
organized a Progressive Lyceum." 

The western department of the " Banner of Light" 
was then located at Cincinnati, under the charge of 
J. M. Peebles, with whom he spent such time as the 
engagements of both would permit — a pleasure the 
more fully appreciated and enjoyed on account of its 
rarity. It is a misfortune common in some degree to 
all our public speakers, that they can have but few 



MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS. 131 

opportunities for unrestricted converse with each 
other. This deprivation he, in common with others, 
greatly regretted, not only because it came between 
him and friends whom he held especially dear, but be- 
cause he believed that better acquaintance and harmony 
among the workers would be to the interest of the cause 
equally dear to all, as well as conducive to individual 
progress. He gave no week evening lectures during 
this month, with the exception of three at Muncie, Ind., 
as his physical strength did not warrant him in any 
extra effort, and remained at and near home through 
the summer for the same reason. In the mean while he 
busied himself composing new music and seeing to its 
publication. In addition to the eight pieces mentioned, 
as published in 1864, he had already given to the pub- 
lic five during 1865, and before the close of 1866 six 
more were added to the number. Those issued in 1865, 
under the general title of " Flowers from the West," 
were " O, Hear my parting Sigh," " Medora," " O, tell 
me not of Fields of Glory," " The Wind is in the Chest- 
nut Bough," and " Pride of Elsinore," and were pub- 
lished by Whittemore, Detroit. From this house were 
also issued the next three, in 1866, which, under the 
heading of " Golden Memories," included " Whene'er 
in Sleep the Eyelids close," " Sweet be thy Dreams, 
Allida," and "She was a Rose." During the same 
year three others, " Spirit of Light, Love, and Beauty," 
"Aminta Mia," and "Lela Trefaine," were pub- 
lished by Whitney, of Detroit. The last of these was 
delivered to the publisher previous to his return to Cin- 
cinnati in September. There he found the society not 
so pleasantly situated as in April, — they having sus- 
tained a -heavy loss in the burning of their hall, with 



132 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

their organ and Lyceum equipments, — but still resolved 
not to be daunted even by the elements. He comments 
on their bravery as follows : — 

" The society lost considerably by the fire, but, with 
commendable energy, have got their Lyceum newly 
equipped, and are making arrangements for a new organ. 
In the mean time they have a very good melodeon, 
which they rent. The great disadvantage they labor 
under now is, their place of meeting is not nearly as 
large or as centrally located as the Academy of Music. 
The latter place will not be finished before January-" 

The third week of the month he spent at Muncie, 
Ind., delivering a course of lectures, and had a narrow 
chance of getting back to Cincinnati the following Sun- 
day, as travel was interrupted, owing to heavy floods. 
He went down on the first train for several days. 
Indianapolis was seemingly all afloat, and there was a 
foot of water in the great depot still. With regard to 
the aspect of the country along the route he said, 
" It is a sorry sight to see the thousands of acres of as 
fine corn as ever stood up on the river bottom lands, 
covered with water, in some fields, even to the tops of 
the stalks. The loss to Ohio and Indiana from these 
rains will be millions." 

When brought face to face with such calamities, the 
thinking mind instinctively asks, why such things are 
permitted in the economy of nature ; what their neces- 
sity and use ; why fire and flood should thus waste prop- 
erty ; why war and pestilence should destroy the lives 
and blast the hopes of men. And the universality of 
the question is the surest guarantee that it will eventu- 
ally be answered ; that, though our present ignorance 
struggles with the problem vainly or with imperfect 



OLD FRIENDS. 183 

success, future enlightenment will furnish the solution, 
and dissipate the seeming mystery. 

After spending the month of October in Michigan, 
and at home, with the exception of two Sundays at 
Grand Rapids, he again returned to Louisville, for the 
last two months of the year. His health was not very 
good, but improved toward the last of his stay, and, as 
usual there, he spoke to large audiences ; or, to use his 
own expression, it often happened that seats "were not 
nearly as numerous as people, at the hall." 

He had the good luck to fall in with good company, 
on leaving home, in the person of N. Frank White, 
with whom he spent most agreeably the time, until 
their ways divided ; and he also met quite a number of 
old friends during his stay in Louisville. He says, — 

"I have met, among the rest, several persons whom 
I used to know in the South. One of these, Colonel S. 
D. Hay, of Texas, you have heard me speak of years 
ago. He is one of the oldest Spiritualists in that state, 
and was United States Attorney for Texas under Bu- 
chanan. He used to write for the ' Banner ' a good 
deal, seven or eight years ago. He would like to have 
me go down through that country this winter ; but I 
can not." 

That travel, and the study of human nature in all 
classes and under numerous phases, had not diminished 
his keen appreciation of the humorous, will be readily 
seen bj the following anecdote and description, which 
he wrote home at this time, and often repeated after- 
wards : — 

" I think I omitted to mention, in my enumeration 
of our family here, two important personages of the 
colored persuasion, whose respective cognomens are 



134 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

6 Judge ' Carter and ' General ' Lee, and who take care 
of team, buildings, fires, black boots, &c. The ' Judge ' 
is an old negro, very black and garrulous, and pro- 
foundly superstitious, — claims to be something of a 
\ Houdoo,' cures diseases by charms, and is greatly re- 
spected and feared by many of the colored people here- 
about. When he don't want a person to come here 
any more, he strews salt on the pavement after they 
have gone, and c says over some words,' as he calls it, 
and has unbounded faith in the efficacy of the proceed- 
ing. Like many white men of the same title, he is 
inclined to steal if he gets a good chance. I keep 
everything locked up, but I find I have a better protec- 
tion. The other day, when he brought in some coal, 
he asked me very confidentially if it was a 4 fack dat 
eberyting in dis yar room ' was bewitched. I assured 
him very solemnly that it was so, with the exception 
of the stove and coal-hod. I had left them all right, so 
he could attend to the fire." 

Early in December he met with quite a serious acci- 
dent, the effects of which troubled him several weeks, 
though he made light of it at the time in the following 
fashion : — 

December 10. " The other night I had an unexpected 
fit of devotion, and knelt down in the street. Cause — 
a break in the sidewalk and ice thereon. Result — 
torn garments and a knee quite badly cut with a sharp 
stone. A Dutch tailor — who, I think, must have been 
born with a needle in his hand — mended the ugly tear 
in the cloth so it can scarcely be seen even on close 
inspection. I only wish he could mend the flesh like- 
wise. The pavements are all glare ice. The boys 
skate anywhere, and enjoy it hugely, and a scared- 



OPPOSITION TO SPIRITUALISM. 135 

looking cutter is occasionally seen on the street. I 
have received some nice birthday presents, to remind 
me that I am growing venerable." 

December 25. " A merry Christmas for you all, 
though I feel anything but merry, having been kept 
awake all night by every species of noise from musical 
to infernal. You know they raise a regular hillaballoo 
here Christmas, — make a sort of ' 4th of July of it.' 
My wounds are nearly healed, and I am feeling quite 
well, in anticipation of reaching home in a few days 
now." 

During his stay at Louisville he had considerable 
correspondence with regard to holding a debate at St. 
Johns, Mich., under the following circumstances : — 

In the month of October, the notorious S. P. Leland 
visited St. Johns, delivering his usual series of slanders 
against Spiritualism and Spiritualists, besides bringing 
forward the cheapest imitations of physical spirit mani- 
festations, and declaring them to be the same, and the 
only manifestations produced through mediums. His 
boastful promises to " expose the humbug" created 
quite an excitement, especially among those who longed 
to have something of that kind done, but as yet knew 
not how to do it ; and the committee appointed by the 
opposers made haste to proclaim to the public, through 
the press, that Spiritualism had been exposed. 

The opponents challenged the Spiritualists to a pub- 
lic investigation of their philosophy and its phenomena. 
The society of Spiritualists promptly called a special 
meeting, and passed the following preamble and reso- 
lution : — 

" Whereas, The opponents of Spiritualism in this vil- 
lage have declared their willingness to investigate the 



136 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

phenomena and philosophy of Spiritualism, and have 
challenged such investigation either publicly or before 
private committees, or both ; therefore, 

Resolved, That the St. Johns Society of Spiritualists 
do accept such challenge, and that a committee be 
appointed by th$ society, to consult with a like com- 
mittee of opponents, to settle the necessary prelimina- 
ries, and to secure the attendance of such persons as 
may be thought best to represent the cause of Spiritu- 
alism in such investigation." 

The committee, in discharge of their duty, invited 
A. B. Whiting to defend their cause in debate, which 
invitation he accepted in the following letter : — 

Louisville, Ky., November 10, 1866. 

A. A. Wheelock. 

Dear Sir : Agreeable to your request that I would 
forward you the terms on which I would debate with 
some one of the public opponents of Spiritualism, I 
enclose you the within propositions and rules of debate 
for submission to said public opponent or his represen- 
tatives. I will debate one or both of the propositions 
with any respectable clergyman in the world, — I 
affirming the first and denying the second proposition. 

And, being informed by you that the Anti-Spiritual- 
ists of St. Johns have challenged the Spiritualists of 
that place to bring some advocate of our cause to meet 
them or a representative of their claims against Spiritu- 
alism, I take this method of signifying my acceptance 
of said challenge, under the within rules of debate and 
the conditions hereinafter specified. The wording of 
my affirmative proposition embodies what I am willing 
to affirm as Spiritualism, and if I am called upon to 



LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 137 

take an affirmative position, should insist upon it, or 
one similarly worded. The negative proposition may- 
be changed in any way to suit the special theory or 
desire of my opponent ; provided, of course, that it shall 
embody a denial of the claims of Spiritualism, and not 
conflict with the rules of debate. 

I give you full liberty to use my name at any time 
and place as an advocate of our religion, against all 
honorable opposers by fair and open argument. For 
dishonest cavilers all argument is unavailing ; and, my 
friend, I have yet to learn that any libelous slanderer, 
reviler of Spiritualists, renegade medium, or strolling 
mountebank of any description, — not to mention hon- 
orable opponents, — has ever dared openly to assail the 
moral character or private reputation of the under- 
signed. Then, without pedantry, I may further say, 
that there is not a city or town in America where our* 
philosophy is known, but what the Spiritualists would 
cheerfully indorse me as an able advocate of Spiritual- 
ism. Can the opposers bring a public disputant as fully 
indorsed by his denomination ? I do not ask that 
much ; but, under the circumstances, in justice to the 
cause of Spiritualism and my reputation as a public 
speaker, I can not be satisfied with an opponent unless 
he is indorsed by the religious denomination to which 
he belongs, or those whose cause he represents. 
I remain, very truly, 

A. B. Whiting. 

The last paragraph of this letter was called out by the 
circumstance that the Anti-Spiritualists claimed the 
privilege of reserving the name of their proposed cham- 
pion until the time of the debate, and was written with 



138 BIOGRAPHT OF A, B. WHITING. 

a view to make them fully responsible for the champion 
whom they should select under this somewhat unusual 
stretch of privilege. 

The result of this negotiation — or rather its non- 
result — I quote from the report of the committee of 
Spiritualists, as published in the St. Johns " Republi- 
can," two months later. 

" Early in November our opponents were notified of 
our readiness to enter upon the investigation, and a 
copy of the resolutions and rules of debate, submitted 
by A. B. Whiting, was served upon their committee, 
they promising that, if possible, they would find some 
scientific, talented man to represent their side, and 
have the discussion commence. More than two months 
have passed by, and, notwithstanding this little village 
has five resident clergymen, with a Catholic priest now 
and then, to represent old theology and modern Chris- 
tianity, the committee appointed by the opposers of 
Spiritualism report their inability, thus far, to find any 
one to engage in the investigation to which the Spirit- 
ualists were challenged by them." 

The resolutions alluded to in the letter were sub- 
stantially the same that he had often debated, and 
always stood ready to debate, though in the later years 
of his life the challenge was seldom accepted, viz. : — 

1. " Resolved, That the Scriptures, history, philoso- 
phy, and the spiritual demonstrations of the present 
day, prove that the spirits of the departed dead have 
communicated in the past, and can, and do, in the 
present age, communicate with the inhabitants of 
earth." And, 

2. "Resolved, That modern Spiritualism is a delu- 
sion, and the so-called spiritual manifestations can be 



RULES OF DEBATE. 139 

satisfactorily accounted for, without admitting their 
spiritual origin." 

The three rules of debate upon which he invariably 
insisted were as follows : — 

1. " That any reflection upon the moral character of 
either of the respective parties to which the disputants 
belong shall be considered a breach of courtesy. 

2. " That any offensive personality on the part of 
either disputant shall be considered a breach of cour- 
tesy. 

3. " There shall be no decision, by vote or otherwise, 
as to the merits of the debate, by chairman, committee, 
or audience ; but each person shall be left free to form 
his or her opinion, individually and unbiassed." 

Other rules were left to a joint committee. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

1867-8, WASHINGTON AGAIN. — DISSOLUTION OF THE 
" THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS." — DR. FERGUSON AND 
OTHER SPIRITUAL CELEBRITIES. — BUFFALO, N. Y. 
ROCHESTER AND ELDER MILES GRANT. — LOUISVILLE, 
KY. — SUN-STROKE. — IN THE SICKROOM. — J. O. 
BARRETT AND THE " SPIRITUAL HARP." — STATE 
SPIRITUALIST ASSOCIATION AT JACKSON, JANUARY, 
1868. — ALCINDA WILHELM SLADE. 

The first two months of 1867 he spent at home, 
speaking at Albion a portion of that time, and being 
further detained by sickness in the family. During this 



140 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

time lie assisted the Albion Society in getting up a 
" Grand Festival." A proposition to publish a news- 
paper in honor of the occasion aroused the fun-loving 
propensities of his school days, and he readily assumed 
the position of editor-in-chief, " with a numerous and 
able corps of assistants and contributors," comprising, 
by actual count, two persons — myself and a cousin (a 
gentleman a little his junior, who was a member of our 
family from 1866 to 1870, now a rising member of the 
bar in this county, but whose keen perception of the 
humorous has not been obscured by his legal attain- 
ments). I think I can safely say, that the result of the 
combined labors of these amateur Bohemians literally 
fulfilled the declared intention of the " chief scribe," to 
produce " a paper that should be a burlesque upon 
everything in the shape of a newspaper." Less than 
two days was allotted us to get the copy ready, but, as 
telegrams, foreign correspondence, and thrilling items, 
were all alike manufactured within the same local office, 
as, it is said, often happens in the history of more pre- 
tentious sheets, we progressed rapidly, and had a merry 
time withal. I mention this little incident, not only 
because it holds for me a pleasant memory, but as an 
instance of the zeal with which my brother was wont 
to devote himself to the business in hand, however 
trivial it might be. This promptness and thoroughness 
in the execution of any design formed, or charge 
assumed, was eminently characteristic of his nature. 
He was scrupulously punctual on all occasions, and 
nothing annoyed him more than lack of punctuality 
in others. In all his travels he was never late for a 
train, unless detained by the delay or negligence of 
some other person. 



WASHINGTON AGAIN. 141 

The last of February he again left home for Wash- 
ington, calling by the way on Warren Chase, at the 
New York office of the " Banner of Light," and arriv- 
ing at the capital in time to open his engagement the 
first Sunday of March. He found many prominent 
Spiritualists gathered together in the city, from various 
accidental causes, a condensed account of whom, to- 
gether with one or two other notes that may be of 
interest, I will transcribe from his letters. 

March 6. " There are a great many Spiritualist 
celebrities in Washington at present, though I regret to 
say, that the greatest man among them all is very ill at 
present. I allude to Dr. Ferguson. He is suffering 
terribly with necrosis of the bone of the leg, and seems 
to get no permanent relief from anything. He was at 
the President's, but about a week ago Major Chor- 
penning had him brought down to his residence, where 
he could be more quiet. John M. Spear and wife — 
just from London — are stopping at the same place. 
Dr. John Mayhew, from Minnesota, Mrs. Morrell, a 
test medium, from Baltimore, and a number of others 
are, like myself, here temporarily, besides Thomas Gales 
Forster and others who reside here, making quite a 
phalanx altogether. 

" Mrs. Spear has a beautiful photograph album, 
presented her by Lady Henrietta Vance, which con- 
tains portraits of the principal spiritual notables of 
England, and some from other countries. 

" About the finest looking old gentleman in the crowd 
is William Howitt. Among the number are Lord Bury, 
Sir Thomas Brevier, Bulwer, Professor De Morgan, 
Dr. Ashburner, Robert Cooper — editor "Spiritual 
Times," — Benjamin Coleman — editor " Spiritual Mag- 



142 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

azine," — Allen Kardec — President Spiritual Bureau of 
France, Count Constantine Wittig, of Breslau, Prussia, 
who has translated Davis' and Edmunds' works into 
German, and the Russian Prince, Demidorf, who has 
translated many spiritual documents into the Russian 
language. I was very much interested in looking over 
this album, and reviewing the history of the originals of 
the pictures, with several of whom I have, as you know, 
corresponded. 

" I witnessed the expiring groans of the Thirty-ninth 
Congress on Monday, also the incoming of that terri- 
ble Fortieth Congress, which, everybody thinks, will 
attempt to depose the President. It may please you to 
know that, in my opinion, John Morrissey, late of the 
P. R., is one of the finest looking men in the new Congress. 
He would be called a fine looking man anywhere. Butler 
is, of course, the ugliest, and, I think, is rather proud 
of the distinction. The political atmosphere is in a very 
feverish and excited condition, and the general opinion 
seems to be that we are on the eve of a tremendous 
smashing up. All we can do is to wait and see." 

March 11, " Dr. Ferguson is much better ; was 
able to come down to the parlor, and make a short 

speech at the reception at Major C 's last Friday. 

There were about one hundred present, some from 
nearly every State in the Union. Among the late 
arrivals are Dr. Rose and Mr. Merriman, of Memphis." 

After his return from Washington, in the first week 
of April, he spent two idle, yet busy, months at home, 
superintending some repairs and improvements, which 
he had long contemplated, and lightening for me the 
suffering and inconvenience occasioned by a disabled 
right arm. I count it among the curious compensations 



VISITS TO VARIOUS PLACES. 143 

which time brings for sorrow and suffering, that the 
halo of love and sympathy, which illumined for us some 
darkened day, grows ever brighter with the gathering 
years, until the pain and gloom become glorified to our 
mental vision, and dwell with us only as a dear and 
tender memory. Thus do the tendrils of my thought 
cling to that time when he, "from whom death can 
divide me never," lent to my weakness, literally, a 
strong right hand. 

In the month of June following, he revisited Buffalo, 
N. Y., after a lapse of eleven years. He found that 
there, as elsewhere, time had wrought many changes. 
Few of the old Spiritualists were left, while many had 
passed on to the higher life. He remained through^ the 
month, and had the pleasure of seeing the society en- 
abled to establish itself in a more commodious hall, and 
in a fair way to future prosperity. 

After a short visit home, including a brief lecturing 
trip to Almont, Mich., he returned eastward again to 
Rochester, where his engagement extended to the last 
of August, the lectures being given on Sunday and 
Thursday evenings, instead of, as usual, two on Sun- 
day. This arrangement was found a very good one, 
both for speaker and society, it being easier for the 
former, and giving the latter the Sunday afternoons for 
the use of the Lyceum, without the fatigue of three 
sessions in the day. He was much pleased with the 
Lyceum children, not only for their proficiency in the 
various exercises, but still more for the spirit of har- 
mony which seemed to prevail among them. 

The last Saturday and Sunday of July he participated 
in the exercises of the " Medium and Speakers' Con- 
vention," held there, being appointed chairman of the 



144 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

committee on resolutions, and also delivering the closing 
address of the convention. He took for his subject on 
that occasion " Spiritualism in the Middle Ages." 

During the latter part of his engagement in Rochester, 
the Adventists, under the lead of Elder Miles Grant, of 
Boston, had pitched their tent in a vacant lot in the 
city, and were holding forth nightly on the " Sleep of 
the Dead," " Resurrection," " Devilism," " Conflagra- 
tion of the World," and kindred themes. Efforts were 
made to bring about a discussion with Elder Grant, 
who had only a short time previously been engaged in 
a debate with J. G. Fish ; a question was agreed upon, 
substantially the same as that discussed with Elder 
Stephenson at Grand Rapids, and my brother offered to 
devote to the debate the only time remaining before he 
was obliged to leave to fulfill engagements in the west. 
The society even volunteered to give up their regular 
Sunday evening lecture, in order to allow more time ; 
but Elder Grant signified his inability to attend to it at 
that time " on account of the tent meeting," and hence 
it was unavoidably postponed to some more convenient 
season. I may as well state here that that auspicious 
period never arrived. 

His engagement at Louisville, Ky., for the ensuing 
month (September) passed without especial incident, 
as far as his public labors were concerned, but was 
marked by one fraught with great physical discomfort, 
and some danger. He was induced by the solicitations 
of friends, and his own love of fine horses and eques- 
trian skill, to visit the State Fair grounds one day dur- 
ing the annual exhibition. The day was excessively 
warm, so much so that many cases of sunstroke 
occurred. He had always been in the habit of con- 



HOME AGAIN. 145 

sidering himself almost proof against heat, and his cool 
manner of declaring himself "just comfortable," in a 
temperature which was to ordinary people barely endur- 
able, had often gained him the appellation of " Salaman- 
der ; " but on this occasion he was so overcome by the 
heat as to be very sick for several days; nor was he 
ever again able to endure the heat as formerly. He 
had to be especially careful about riding in the hot sun, 
as it was extremely liable to induce the old symptoms 
of dizziness and nausea. This susceptibility, however, 
lessened each year, and would probably, in time, have 
passed away entirely. 

He came home in October, and with the exception 
of a few lectures given in Battle Creek and other 
neighboring towns, did not leave again until the fol- 
lowing February, being compelled to cancel his engage- 
ments for the intermediate months on account of the 
long and dangerous illness of our mother. 

Many precious memories cluster round the days of 
anxiety and nights of watching, which we shared 
through long weeks, while our combined magnetic 
strength, re-enforced by angel helpers, held in suspense 
the trembling balances wherein life and death contend- 
ed for the mastery. At length, after passing so near 
the shining shore that she was able to catch a vivid 
glimpse of its realities, the life-bark, which had drifted 
almost beyond our reach, was again moored to the 
hither side. 

During our mother's convalescence, he had the 
pleasure of entertaining at our home Rev. J. O. Barrett, 
then acting as missionary agent for the Michigan Asso- 
ciation of Spiritualists, and who was also engaged, with 
Messrs. Peebles and Bailey, in collecting material for 
10 



146 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

the " Spiritual Harp," which was published the ensu- 
ing summer. My brother furnished two pieces of 
music for the book, entitled, respectively, " Strike the 
Harp in Nature's Praise," and " Waiting, only waiting." 

One of the pieces contributed by me was, by mis- 
take, credited to him in the index of the work, and 
never corrected, as it made no difference to either of us ; 
and I only mention it now from the fact that the query 
might arise, why I had omitted this from the list of his 
compositions, and I might, perhaps, be accused of neg- 
ligence in so doing. 

In January, 1868, he attended the meeting of the 
State Spiritual Association, at Jackson, it being the 
third session of that body. He had been a prominent 
worker in behalf of business organization among Spirit- 
ualists from the first, and on this occasion delivered the 
opening speech of the convention upon that subject. 
The following extract, from the report of a correspond- 
ent of the secular press, gives but a faint idea of the 
address, but embodies his main positions upon that 
question, and is included here for that reason. 

" Mr. A. B. Whiting, of Albion, then delivered the 
opening speech substantially as follows : — 

" 6 1 take it not as a personal compliment to myself 
that I am called upon to address you this evening, but 
rather as a recognition of the number of years I have 
labored in this cause. I stand, to-night, within a short 
distance of the place where I emerged into the light of 
this great philosophy. We have met for the purpose 
of forming an organization, to the end that we may pro- 
mulgate that gospel of truth which we all so love. 
Spiritualism has grown up around and about us, until 
it has arrived from a feeble band, few in numbers, to a 



EXTRACT FROM ADDRESS AT JACKSON. 147 

great community, comprising a large and intelligent 
part of society. This is cheering to all who love this 
glorious philosophy. . . . The truth embodied in 
this philosophy shows us the future of those we love — 
opens to our mortal vision a glimpse of that futurity 
toward which we are all merging. It becomes necessa- 
ry to consider, not the facts of Spiritualism, for these 
are proven beyond cavil. There are thousands whose 
testimony is proof of the truth of spiritual manifesta- 
tions. We can only say to scoffers, as we have a right 
to say, until they can account for little raps, the A 
in the alphabet of Spiritualism, they have no right 
to deprecate our philosophy, or even to look deeper 
into its mysteries. We are all indebted to this phi- 
losophy for our redemption from the creeds and fallacies 
through which we have so long groped our mazy way. 
We are not here to overthrow the doctrines of inspira- 
tion, but rather to build them up ; for there can be no 
true Spiritualism until revelation is acceded to. We 
claim, however, that creeds and religions are transient 
and progressive. Systems and creeds are like garments, 
to be worn for a season, then to be exchanged for some- 
thing newer and better. As we cast our eye over the 
page of history, we there see how all earthly things 
fade ; how churches, like governments, have risen and 
fallen. The central idea of all religions, in times past 
and present, was Spiritualism. The mysteries of the 
inner temple of the priests of Isis, the Indian mytholo- 
gies, the appearance of Moses and Elias on the mount, 
the visions of John at Patmos, all prove the universal- 
ity and grandeur of the spiritualistic idea. The early 
fathers of the church, until the time of the Nicene 
Council, taught and recognized spirit communion. 



148 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

Krome says, " You can not wall up the saints in their 
graves ; will ye wall up the souls of the dead ? They 
are everywhere present and always with you." 

" ' The Catholic, more consistent than the Protestant, 
has never yet relinquished the spiritualistic idea, and 
the revelations to, and inspiration of, their saints. In 
times past the state exercised great tyranny over the 
church; but the time is drawing near when church 
and state will be divorced. America, where religious 
freedom has been so happily planted, has taken the lead 
in this divorcement.' 

" He then presented Spiritualism under three forms, 
viz. : external manifestations, philosophy, and religion, 
and treated of these at some length. He then im- 
pressed upon his hearers the great importance of or- 
ganizing, appealing to them to throw aside their party 
prejudices, and aid in gathering together the millions of 
Spiritualists, scattered and disbanded for want of such 
organization. The Spiritualists of America have hitherto 
acted in an individual capacity, but now the time has 
come for building up an outward temple. For this pur- 
pose it is necessary that there be local, state, and grand 
associations, not for the purpose of propagating creeds 
or articles of faith, but to send missionaries to enlighten 
the ignorant and break down the prejudices that exist 
against us, and to draw together our scattered bands 
into a solid phalanx. * 

" He then gave some statistics, which, he said, he 
regretted must be taken from their enemies, for the 
want of proper data among themselves. From the 
Catholic Convention, held at Baltimore, the following 
statistics are taken : 4 There are from ten million to 
eleven million Spiritualists in the United States, a num- 



ADDRESS AT JACKSON. 149 

ber which exceeds the combined communicants of all 
other churches.' Upon one half of this number as a 
basis, the speaker said that this convention represented 
one hundred thousand in Michigan. And from these 
numbers did they not see that, had they an organiza- 
tion, they would bring in thousands, who, hearing their 
lectures and seeing their manifestations, were inquiring, 
Where is your organization ? What do you propose to 
do f They would then be enabled to support our mis- 
sionaries and mediums, and give our doctrines free to the 
people. This organization would also repel the perse- 
cution which hitherto, as individuals, they had received. 
Ten millions of people were not to be persecuted. 

" He then made a fervid appeal to all free thinkers, 
saying that what was good in the Catholic church, the 
Protestant denominations, and all religions and creeds 
whatsoever, was to be found in the spiritualistic 
philosophy. He remembered well the time when the 
Methodists were derided and persecuted worse than the 
Spiritualists had ever been ; but by their energy and 
persistence, they had grown to be at once powerful 
and respectable. The Jesuits had for ages kept up 
the crumbling foundations of the Catholic church by 
the force of their secret workings. He commended 
the persistence and energy of the one and the unity of 
the other, as elements which would make Spiritualism 
more powerful than both combined. The spirits would 
aid them in doing the work, and doing it faithfully ; but 
they could not build a temple or perfect an organization 
without earthly aid and co-operation. 

" The speech throughout was of the most vigorous 
and eloquent character, and was listened to with close 
attention." 



150 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

He spoke again, the last evening of the convention, 
from the text, " To what do all these things tend ? " 

At this convention were gathered an unusual number 
of the public advocates of Spiritualism, among whom 
was another who has since passed on to the higher life, 
— Mrs. Alcinda W. Slade, — who then, for the first time, 
assumed her place in the front rank of the Spiritualists 
of Michigan. Not many months later, the subject of 
this memoir was called on to speak the last farewell 
over the earthly remains of this efficient co-laborer. 
Her body was laid to rest in the cemetery at Albion, 
where his own has since been deposited. 



CHAPTER XV. 

BUFFALO. — ABRAHAM JAMES. — GENESEE CONFERENCE. 
— -HOME. — THE "NEW CONSTITUTION." — ITS DE- 
FEAT. — A PLEASURE TRIP, WITH VARIATIONS. — 
CAPE COD SPIRITUALIST CAMP-MEETING. — MUSICAL 
DATA. — PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1868. — HIS 
PARTICIPATION AND POPULARITY THEREIN. — AT 
THE GREAT MASS MEETINGS OF THIS STATE. — FINAL 
TRIUMPH AT JACKSON. — LAST GREAT EFFORT UPON 
THE POLITICAL ROSTRUM. — PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION. 
— ANOTHER DEBATE WHICH DID NOT COME OFF. 

In the month of February, 1868, he lectured again 
for the Spiritualist Society of Buffalo, N. Y. — with 
what success may be inferred from the fact that, al- 



CONFERENCE OF SPIRITUALISTS. 151 

though the first two Sundays were very stormy, he 
spoke to crowded houses, causing him to make the 
remark that he did not know what they would do if it 
should come a pleasant Sunday. 

Dr. Slade visited Buffalo during his stay, and another 
well-known medium, Abraham James, was also there 
over one Sunday. Of the latter he wrote home the 
following facts, under date of February 17 : — 

u You remember hearing and reading of Abraham 
James, the medium who discovered the Chicago Arte- 
sian wells. He has been, for the last six months, 
engaged in an oil well near Titusville, Pa. Last sum- 
mer he made a public prophecy about it at the conven- 
tion at Rochester, and desired it put on record. Feb- 
ruary 1, they struck oil at precisely the depth foretold, 
and the well is now flowing one hundred barrels and 
upward of oil a day. He was here last night, and gave 
a little history of the matter to the audience after 
lecture." 

The Genesee Conference of Spiritualists met in con- 
vention at Buffalo the 18th and 19th. He participated 
in the exercises, and delivered two addresses during the 
sessions, and also sang, by particular request, one or 
two pieces of his composition. In his closing lecture — 
as reported in the proceedings of the convention — ■ he 
concluded with an exhortation to fidelity to the trust 
committed to our times, which was characterized as 
• 4 searching, pungent, and persuasive," the following 
being the final paragraph : — 

" If we prove recreant, the future historic page must 
bear for us a most ignoble record. Our times are more 
highly favored than any preceding, and more fully 
fraught with all the resources of wealth, talent, and all 



152 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

the elements of successful conquest. Shall the people 
of the twenty-second and twenty-third centuries have 
to say of those of the nineteenth, 'They had the most 
glorious, angelic advent and auxiliaries of any preced- 
ing age, but by reason of their apathy and neglect the 
clouds of religious bigotry again enshrouded the nations 
in a night of gloom.' How much better if they are 
able to say, ' Those highly-favored people comprehend- 
ed their epoch, welcomed gratefully and appreciated 
the truths taught in the " ministry of angels," and in 
a spirit of self-denial put forth opportune efforts, by 
means of which superstition was banished, and the mil- 
lennium of spiritual liberty was ushered in — a price- 
less heritage to all nations and generations.' " 

He was detained in Buffalo some days, after the close 
of his engagement, by the " great snow-storm" of 
March 1st; had a very disagreeable time in getting 
through at last, and was laid up with a severe cold in 
consequence. This was his last long journey for the 
season. He spoke a number of times during the month, 
however, upon political and governmental questions, in 
this and various other places in the state, in opposition 
to a proposed new constitution for the state, which was 
to be submitted to the people at the spring elections. 

He founded his objections to the instrument pre- 
sented for adoption on the general ground that it was 
by no means an improvement on the old, and also on 
several special grounds, one of which was, that the 
provisions for religious liberty were not as well defined 
as in the existing constitution, but were so framed as to 
admit of their being warped to suit the plans of a party 
who were even then working I for the now well-known 
object of incorporating into the constitutions of the land 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 153 

a recognition of God, Jesus, and religion, as seen through 
their theologic spectacles. Their design in this instance 
was so hidden under the appearance of liberality, that 
many, at the first glance, failed to notice how adroitly 
the doorway had been left open for encroachments upon 
the people's rights. He also opposed the clause con- 
ferring suffrage upon negroes, as an insult to the intel- 
ligent white women of the state, and for other reasons 
which he set forth at length, and disapproved of certain 
sumptuary provisions, which, though introduced osten- 
sibly to promote temperance, he deemed rather calcu- 
lated to foster an odious system of espionage than to 
promote the end sought. A strong opposition was 
aroused, and the " New Constitution " was defeated, to 
the astonishment of many who had expected to see it 
adopted as a matter of course, because it was framed by 
the representatives of a party holding a large majority 
in the state. It was noticed as a fact highly compli- 
mentary both to him and to the capacity of the people 
to appreciate principles when clearly presented to their 
minds, that in those localities where he gave his expo- 
sition of the peculiar beauties (?) of the proposed in- 
strument, particularly as regarded the religious view of 
the matter, its defeat on the popular vote was the most 
complete and overwhelming. Thus it appears that, 
though the fame of an orator may be to some extent 
ephemeral, as is often remarked, yet it is not always 
unrewarded by practical results which endure, the 
fittest guerdon of well-directed effort. 

The three ensuing months he spent mostly at home, 
lecturing Sundays a portion of the time at Marshall, 
and attending also several county conventions in the 
state. 



154 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

In July, feeling the need of rest, he determined upon 
a trip to the sea-shore, and, accompanied by mother 
and myself, set out with the intention of spending two 
months at the shore, and in visiting our numerous 
relatives and friends in the vicinity of Boston. This 
programme was carried out, with a few unexpected ad- 
ditions. He desired to abstain entirely from speaking, 
and hence had given the spiritual press no notice of his 
movements, but one July morning walked into the 
4 'Banner" office, surprising not only the urbane editor 
thereof, but also J. O. Barrett, whom he exhumed from 
a heap of " copy," where he was working at the Index 
of the " Spiritual Harp." A few weeks la£er we had 
the pleasure of obtaining one of the first copies of that 
valuable work. In August, being in the vicinity of the 
" Cape Cod Camp Meeting," he rashly ventured to hope 
that he might attend as a simple spectator, and, as he 
was an entire stranger in that region, mingle with the 
crowd unnoticed. He often laughingly referred to the 
result afterward, saying that the next time he tried to 
travel incognito he should not go to Cape Cod when all 
Massachusetts was there holding a Spiritual Camp 
Meeting. On entering the grounds, about every third 
person saluted him by name, and, before he had hardly 
time to look around, he was captured by a Boston 
friend, — George A. Bacon, I think it was, — and conduct- 
ed to the speaker's stand where he was warmly welcomed. 
He remained until the close of the meeting, and then 
only escaped from the whole-souled friends at Harwich 
by promising to return and lecture the ensuing Sunday, 
which he did. He was pressed by numerous other in- 
vitations, but the time was drawing near when he had 
promised to return to Michigan, and therefore he was 



MUSICAL PUBLICATIONS. 155 

obliged to decline. He was also repeatedly requested 
to deliver political addresses at various places, as a 
presidential campaign was in progress, but consented 
only in one instance, which was on the occasion of a 
flag-raising at East Bridgewater — the scene of his last 
school days and the residence of several of our near 
relatives. This was the only political speech ever made 
by him in the State of Massachusetts. He enjoyed the 
time spent in visiting more than I ever knew him to 
at any previous time, and particularly on account of the 
array of musical talent with which he was brought in 
contact. He had published another new composition 
the preceding spring, — " Evyrr Alynn, or the Out- 
cast," — a solo and chorus in chant style, which is con- 
sidered by many as one of his happiest efforts in the 
musical line. In sharp contrast to this, he had also just 
composed a semi-comic campaign song, entitled, " Old 
Dr. Bonds," which was issued by J. S. White & Co., 
Marshall, Mich., and extensively sung during the can- 
vass, particularly in this state. 

These were his last musical publications, and on this, 
his last extended visit among his relatives, though 
he called on some of them again the following year, he 
spent much time in singing his various compositions 
with me, and sometimes with a full quartet of voices 
harmonized by the strong tie of kindred, and in listen- 
ing to such singers as the well-known " Columbian Glee 
Club " and other gifted amateurs. Truly the " nights 
were filled with music," whether in town or at the 
shore, and, if " the cares that invest the day" did not 
" fold their tents like the Arabs," and steal away for- 
ever, their shadows were lifted for the time, that, while 
the senses were steeped in melodious sound, the soul 



156 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

might perceive something of the innate beauty and 
grandeur of harmony. 

We returned home the first week in September, in 
time to attend the Yearly Grove Meeting of the Albion 
Society and Friends, where he spoke as usual. The 
balance of the month was consumed in filling similar 
engagements in different parts of the state. In the 
month of October, he gave himself to the political field, 
addressing the people of the principal towns and vil- 
lages of Central Michigan, and also taking part at sev- 
eral of the largest mass meetings ever held in the state, 
among which, those held at Ann Arbor, Port Huron, 
and Jackson are especially worthy of mention. His 
speeches — in which he never descended to personal 
invective or abuse of opposing candidates — were 
everywhere received with the utmost enthusiasm, and 
are to-day mentioned, not only among the Democracy, 
but by persons of all parties who had opportunities of 
judging, as a most remarkable display of the power of 
eloquence to sway the people. This magnetic quality, 
which enabled him, as it were, to carry his audience 
along with him, and the remarkable vocal power which 
he possessed, made him a great favorite. Crowds so 
large that the majority of speakers could not be heard 
by one half those assembled, and hence could not hope 
for quiet, would listen to him for two hours in silence, 
only interrupted by applause. Thus it happened that, 
at the large meetings, though many speakers might be 
present, much of the hardest work fell upon him, par- 
ticularly toward the close, when some were exhausted 
by excessive speaking in the open air. This was 
noticeably the case at Jackson, at the last rally, the 
week preceding the election, when, out of six speakers, 



LECTURES AT SOUTH BEND. 157 

he was the only one able to make himself heard for any 
length of time ; in consequence of which he was obliged 
to address both the immense concourse at the Fair 
Grounds in the afternoon and the crowd at the wigwam 
in the evening. Although he did this with apparent 
ease, and, it is said, surpassed on this occasion all pre- 
vious efforts, the strain upon his strength was too great, 
and outraged Nature did not fail to vindicate her rights, 
and exact rest, as the atonement for over-exertion. He 
spoke no more in that campaign, being obliged to recall 
the remainder of his appointments; nor did he ever 
again put forth any elaborate effort in the political field. 

In the month of December, having partially recovered 
from the illness induced by physical exhaustion, he went 
to South Bend, Ind., to deliver a course of lectures. 
Just as he was leaving the place he received a com- 
munication from the pastor of the Christian Church, 
Rev. W. B. Hendryx, taking exceptions to the idea, as 
broached by him in the course of his lectures, that the 
teachings and phenomena of Spiritualism were in many 
respects identical with those of Jesus and the apostles, 
and signifying a readiness to debate that proposition. 
To this he replied that he would willingly discuss, not 
only that point, but the entire subject as contained in 
the following resolution, which is substantially the same 
that he had declared himself willing to defend upon on 
all occasions. 

" Resolved, That the Scriptures, history, and the tes- 
timony of reliable living witnesses, prove that the 
spirits of departed human beings have communicated 
in the past, and do still hold intercourse with the in- 
habitants of earth." 

To this proposition Mr. Hendryx demurred as too 



158 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

broad, and, in response to a request that he should af- 
firm a proposition as opposed to Spiritualism, sent this, 
viz. : " That Modern Spiritism is anti-Christian, and 
subversive of the peace, happiness, and perpetuity of 
moral and religious society." 

This Mr. Whiting agreed to accept, overlooking the 
implied slur upon ten millions of Spiritualists, provided 
Mr. Hendryx would also accept his affirmation, and dis- 
cuss each in succession. He also empowered the friends 
who were acting in his behalf to offer the reverend 
gentleman a more restricted affirmation, if they saw fit, 
in this form : — 

" Resolved, That the Bible sustains Modern Spiritual- 
ism in all of its phases, both as to spirit communion and 
the state of the dead." 

With these liberal concessions upon his part Mr. 
Hendryx was not satisfied ; and, as the Spiritualists of 
South Bend refused to concur in any further limitations, 
even if he were willing to submit to them, the arrange- 
ment was not consummated. 



VISIT TO PORTLAND. 159 



CHAPTER XVI. 

1869, 1870. 

LAST VISITS TO NEW ENGLAND, PHILADELPHIA, AND 
LOUISVILLE. — THE LAST BIRTHDAY. — A NEW YEAR'S 
GIFT, AND ITS USEFULNESS. — DAYS OF SUFFERING. 

The early part of the year 1869 lie spent mostly at 
home, on account of impaired health, but, the last of 
April, was sufficiently recovered to venture on a long 
journey, and went to fill the desk of the Portland (Me.) 
Society during the month of May. He was unfortunate 
in having bad weather the first two Sundays, and, as 
the city was too godly to permit the running of street 
cars on that day, people could not get to meeting very 
conveniently. He says, concerning this matter, — 

" My first Sunday here was marked by the awfulest 
rain-storm possible. About two inches of snow had 
fallen in the morning, and the wind blew a gale, which 
continued with rain all day. This being a very pious 
city (in its own estimation), the street cars don't run 
Sunday ; so I had the pleasure of walking a mile to the 
hall, and got somewhat wet, but, wonderful to relate, 
I am not sick, — except of the weather, — and that is 
enough to disgust a respectable dog. 

" The Lyceum is large and well disciplined. The 
brothers Davenport and William Fay are here. Their 



160 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

demonstrations are just as reported in the " Banner," 
going ahead of the descriptions rather, of the two. 

The latter part of his stay was more pleasant in an 
external point of view, and he left with some regret, 
haying just begun to feel at home again in this city, 
where he had formerly spent many happy days. The 
status of things spiritual in Portland, as they appeared 
to him at this time, may be gathered from the following 
extract from a characteristic letter, written by him to 
the " Present Age," and published in that paper : — 

" The Portland Spiritual Association was organized 
in 1854, and has retained its organization intact to the 
present time, being one of the oldest organized spiritual 
societies in the country. The venerable James Furbish 
is still its president. They have a nice hall, which they 
control, central in its location and easy of access. A 
Children's Progressive Lyceum was organized in 1865, 
and numbers at present one hundred and fifty members. 
Last Sunday was convention day, and devoted prin- 
cipally to reading, singing, and declamation. The Port- 
land Lyceum is particularly fortunate in possessing a 
large amount of musical talent, which, under the direc- 
tion of an accomplished musical director, has been 
well developed. Is it not wonderful what an amount 
of musical and dramatic talent these Lyceums are 
bringing out, wherever once established? 

" There have been many changes since I was here last 
(ten years) ; some old and tried friends have passed over 
the river of death, others have changed location in this 
world, and doubtless some have switched off the track 
of open advocacy of Spiritualism to a quasi indorse- 
ment of some of the forms of old theology ; but I trust 
this class numbers but few, for certain it is that no 



FAREWELL TO NEW ENGLAND. 161 

person once a Spiritualist can ever honestly deny the 
truth of our beautiful philosophy. 

"Puritan theology is very powerful in Portland, and 
the ' Christian Young Men ' have their reading and 
praying rooms as elsewhere, and, I presume, advocate 
the same doctrines of Evangelism, and a union of 
church and state to regulate the religion of the people. 
There are a great many earnest, whole-souled workers 
in the cause of Spiritualism here, some of whom have 
been connected with the society ever since its forma- 
tion, and everything now looks favorable for greater 
progress in the future." 

He spoke, the first Sunday of June, at Charlestown, 
Mass., having the pleasure of a short visit with brother 
Peebles in Boston, en passant, the second in East 
Abington, and the third in East Bridgewater, spending 
the intervening week in visiting, and attending the 
Great Peace Jubilee, in Boston, in company with a 
joyous bridal party. This was his last farewell to New 
England, — his last two lectures within its borders 
being given in the town of his birth, and that which 
was the scene of his last school days. He reached home 
the first of July, and during that month filled the desk 
of the Battle Creek Society. The balance of the sum- 
mer was given mostly to attending grove and county 
meetings in this state. 

In October he revisited Philadelphia, to speak, after 
an interval of twelve years. He was fortunate in reach- 
ing the city just before the great floods, which in the 
early part of that month spread such devastation over a 
large portion of Pennsylvania, interrupting railroad 
communications for some days. Of these he wrote, un- 
der date of October 5, — 
11 



162 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

" I suppose you have read of the terrible floods in 
this region. All the railroads are more or less flooded, 
bridges washed away, &c. The Schuylkill and Dela- 
ware rivers are both running mad this morning, and 
great damage has been done along the banks above the 
city, and many mills inundated and bridges swept away 
in the city. The Spiritualists here have good grit to 
turn out, for I had a very good audience Sunday even- 
ing, though it rained 4 prodigious.' " 

October 22. " Last Thursday, by invitation, I visited 
a very fine gallery of paintings, by eminent foreign and 
native artists. I was especially delighted with two little 
gems by Rosa Bonheur, though some of the larger pic- 
tures would win more admiration from the majority of 
people, no doubt." 

" Friday, 15, I went to hear Emma Hardinge. She 
is speaking in this city Sundays, and goes to New York 
every Monday, and remains until Friday, reading proof 
of her book — 6 The History of American Spiritualism.' 
Last evening I went up to Kensington, four miles from 
here, but still in the city, to attend the exhibition of 
their Lyceum. If the spirit of mother's uncle, Caswell 
Gardner, ever hovers around his former home, he will 
see a very great change from his once country estate to 
a crowded part of the city." 

This was his last visit to Philadelphia, where he had 
a few dear and tried friends of many years standing, 
and many newer ones. 

The ensuing month he spoke in Detroit, and also, 
during that time, was called upon to conduct funeral 
services over all that was mortal of a faithful worker 
in the spiritual vineyard, Mrs. Alcinda Wilhelm Slade, 



LECTURES AT THE WEST. 163 

who, less than a year previously, had adopted this state 
as her home, under the most flattering auspices. 

The remainder of this year, together with the first 
half of 1870, he spent mostly in this state. In Feb- 
ruary, in addition to his Sunday lectures in Coldwater, 
which called forth especial mention from the local press, 
he accepted an invitation to deliver a literary lecture 
before the Young Men's Association of Marshall, fol- 
lowing Henry Vincent in the course. His subject was 
" The Ideal and the Real," and he spoke entirely with- 
out notes, as was his invariable custom on all occasions. 
An abstract of this lecture, written by me at the time, 
and published in the " Present Age " and other papers, 
will be found in the second part of this volume. It, 
of course, can convey but a mere skeleton of the ad- 
dress, as it fell from his lips at the Academy of Music, 
MarshaU, February 25, 1870. 

Early in the following autumn, he gave his last lec- 
tures in Chicago, and at Kalamazoo, Mich., attending, 
in the mean while, the yearly picnic of the Albion 
Society, as usual, and speaking in many places in the 
vicinity of home. In October he spoke at Farmington 
and Milford, and, the very last of that month, gave his 
last address at Battle Creek, the occasion being the 
funeral of an aged Spiritualist — Mrs. Merritt. From 
there he went to Louisville, Ky., to fill an engagement 
for the two following months — November and Decem- 
ber. Of his first Sunday there he wrote, " It was 
the largest audience I ever had in this city. The hall 
is large, theater-shaped, and consequently easy to speak 
in." I will insert a few extracts from his letters, men- 
tioning incidents of this his latest visit to Louisville. 

November 20. " Last Sunday morning, by invitation 



164 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

of some of the prominent Jew Spiritualists, — of whom 
there are a good many, — I attended the synagogue. 
They have the best organ and choir I have heard in 
a long time, and have instituted quite an innovation in 
allowing the men and women to sit together — a thing 
I never saw before in a Jewish meeting. The services 
were the same as I have witnessed before many times, 
and the sermon, I was informed, was very good, but, 

being in German, I was obliged like brother , on a 

like occasion, to take the word of a reliable gentleman 
as to that matter. I was introduced to the Rabbi, who 
seems to be a very liberal man. He reciprocated by 
attending my lecture in the evening, and, as he under- 
stands English, he is so much ahead." 

November 29. " Last Sunday night, after lecture, I 
spent about half an hour at a circle, where the principal 
medium was a young lawyer, of Jewish birth, named 
Dinkelspiel. The manifestations were very wonderful, 
— spirits talking audibly, and other feats of like char- 
acter. I have also been to see Mrs. Hollis — a medium 
who has writing on the slate, same as Dr. Slade." 

The evangelical clergy of the city became very much 
exercised over the great interest which was being 
aroused in the subject of Spiritualism, and several of 
them preached especial sermons of warning to their 
flocks. Among the number was Rev. Mr. Hopson, 
whom my brother reviewed in a discourse on " The 
Varieties of Faith," an abstract of which was published 
in the " Courier- Journal." He afterward sent to that 
paper the following challenge to the clergy of the 
city: — 

" Inasmuch as there has been, during the last few 
weeks in this city, much controversy upon the subject 



CHALLENGE TO THE CLERGY. 165 

of Spiritualism, and the opponents thereof and myself 
have been compelled to reply to each other through 
reportorial notes, — which in my own case must neces- 
sarily be very meagre, as I speak entirely extempore, 
and about two hundred and twenty words a minute, — I 
would suggest the propriety of holding a public debate 
upon the subject, to continue three or more evenings 
during the week. In reply to reports second hand, there 
must necessarily be more or less unintentional misrep- 
resentation. Now, in order that the citizens of this 
city may hear on equal terms both sides of this impor- 
tant subject, I propose to Elder Hopson, or any other 
clergyman of this city who represents his denomination, 
a public discussion of either of the subjoined questions, 
under parliamentary rules : — 

1. " Resolved, That the Scriptures, history, and pres- 
ent demonstrations prove that the spirits of .departed 
human beings have communicated in the past, and can, 
and do, in the present, communicate with the people of 
earth. 

2. " Resolved, That the Bible (King James' transla- 
tion) sustains modern Spiritualism in all its phases. 

" My object in interpolating the phrase — King 
James' translation — is to avoid any loss of time dis- 
puting regarding Hebrew, Greek, or Latin idioms, and 
bring the subject on its own merits directly before the 
people. In addition, I am ready to receive and consider 
any proposition from Elder Hopson, or any other 
clergyman, which they will be willing to affirm, and 
upon which there is between us a point of differ- 
ence." . . . 

Then followed provision for rules, committee, &c, 
the same in substance as elsewhere stated in correspond- 



166 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

ence with other clergymen. This communication, how- 
ever, met with no response from the Louisville evan- 
gelists. 

The second week in Decemher he went to Paris, 
Bourbon County, to deliver a course of week evening 
lectures, — passing there his thirty-fifth birthday, 
upon which occasion he wrote as follows : — 

December 14. " Thirty-five years old to-day, and I 
don't know as I feel any older than I did yesterday. 
It is a lovely, sunshiny day, cool, but not uncomfortable. 
This is one of the oldest towns in this part of Kentucky, 
and the place where was first made the celebrated 
Bourbon whisky, which has since had more thousands 
of barrels named for it than ever there were gallons made 
in this county. There are a great many old style in- 
fidels here, but a few Spiritualists. My lecture last 
night was the first ever given here on the subject, and 
was listened to by a large audience with apparent 
interest." 

Soon after his return to Louisville, a soreness of the 
throat, which he had considered of little consequence, 
became serious, and developed into a large abscess, which 
obliged him to disappoint his audience upon the last 
Sunday of his engagement. Indeed, he came very 
near passing over the river at that time, as the surgeon 
who lanced his throat said that, if it had broken while 
he was lying down, strangulation would have been al- 
most certain. As it was, he came near starving on ac- 
count of the swelling preventing the taking of any food 
but perfect liquid for some time. This and the severe 
pain reduced him very much, and inflicted a shock upon 
his system from which it never fully recovered. As 



ADDRESS AT ALBION. 167 

soon as able he came home, having been presented by 
his Louisville friends with a very handsome cane to lean 
upon in his weakness, which proved of great service to 
him* not only then, but during the remainder of his 
life on earth. He arrived in time to spend New Year's 
with us, and, though still very feeble, entertained a few 
friends on that day, to whom he gave a whimsical ac- 
count of the way he had " been starved, had his throat 
cut, and been caned," in explaining to them his altered 
looks. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

FEEBLENESS OF BODY AND STRENGTH OF SPIRIT. — 
LAST LECTURES AT CINCINNATI, OHIO, AND AT PORT 
HURON, FARMINGTON, AND MILFORD, MICH. — HOME 

AND BEST. ON THE THRESHOLD OF ETERNITY. — 

FAREWELL ADDRESS. — THE GREAT TRANSITION. — 
FUNERAL SERVICES AT ALBION, AND HONORS TO 
HIS MEMORY ELSEWHERE. 

On the 10th of January he considered himself re- 
covered sufficiently to speak at the county convention 
of Spiritualists, at Albion, which he did, delivering the 
closing address of the convention on the subject of 
u The Hand writing on the Wall." The following week 
he attended the Quarterly Meeting of the Eaton Coun- 
ty Circle at Charlotte, and the last of January went 
to speak at Farmington and Milford, Mich. He filled 



168 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

this engagement, however, at the expense of consider- 
able physical suffering, writing home as follows : — 

Fakmington, February 11, 1871. 

I have been sick for the past week ; had a severe chill 
Sunday morning. Mrs. McCain (a clairvoyant physician 
of fifteen years' practice at Milford) doctored me up, so 
that I went through with my public duties in a manner 
satisfactory to them, but very exhausting to me. My 
old friend, Dr. Irish, controlled her, and told me I ought 
to stop speaking and get recruited up. He says I have 
overtasked the brain and nervous fluids. I shall try to 
take his advice after I have fulfilled my present engage- 
ments ; hope I will not be compelled to before. One 
queer idea he advanced, viz. : that it is very injurious 
for me to attend so many funerals ; but I don't see how 
I can help it : people will die. 

I guess I have written enough of the doleful ; as I 
told J. M., the day I had the chill, I could play the 
part of the " Hypochondriac " with the natural expres- 
sion. 

He came home soon after, but his disposition would 
not allow him to rest longer than absolutely compelled by 
weakness, and in March he went to Port Huron to fill 
an engagement of long standing. Not being able to fix 
the exact date of this visit, on account of the loss of one 
or two letters, I wrote recently to his friend, Dr. 
Pace, of Port Huron, for the required data, receiv- 
ing in reply a letter from which I take the following 
extracts : — 



LETTER FROM DR. PACE. 169 

United States Consulate at Sarnia, 
Ontario, March 29, 1872. 

Miss R. Augusta Whiting, Albion, Mich. 

Dear Madam : Your letter of 21st instant, in reference 
to your brother's last visit to Port Huron, was duly 
received. . . . 

Your brother's last engagement with the Spiritualists 
of Port Huron was for the two last Sundays of March, 
1871. He was in very feeble health at the time, and on 
the last Sunday of his stay with us he leaned upon my 
arm on his way to the lecture-room. He walked very 
slowly, and was evidently very much exhausted. I ex- 
pressed some fear that he would not be able to speak 
that day; but said he, " Don't be alarmed; the spirits 
will take care of that. I shall speak to-day, but I can't 
promise you much for the future. My labors on earth 
are nearly finished." 

When we arrived at the hall, I assisted him on to the 
platform, and gave him a glass of water; and as the 
choir commenced to sing, the angels commenced to bap- 
tize him with their magnetic strength. He arose firmly 
to his feet, and in a loud, unfaltering tone of voice gave 
us a lecture which occupied over an hour in its delivery, 
and such a lecture as could only fall from the inspired 
lips of A. B. Whiting. . . . 

I am, very truly, yours, 

S. D. Pace. 

On his return from Port Huron, we urged him very 
strongly to throw up his engagement at Cincinnati the 
next two months ; but so great was his dislike for dis- 
appointing people, that he could not feel that it would 
be right to do so if it could be avoided. When the 



170 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

time came for him to go, however, he was not able to 
travel, and sent a dispatch to that effect ; also wrote, ex- 
plaining the reason and asking to be released from the 
engagement, but stating that he might perhaps be able 
to come in a week or two. He received an answer de- 
siring him to come as soon as he was able, and they 
would keep up the meetings as best they could until his 
arrival. 

Being somewhat recruited by another week at home, 
he accordingly went, and remained seven Sundays, 
though at what expense of physical suffering was known 
only to him and the angels who attended and sustained. 
Ifelt it all by virtue of the mystic tie, but it was not 
until afterward that I knew that chapter of heroic en- 
durance from outward sources". He complained little in 
his letters, except of being tired and homesick. 

After the first Sunday there he wrote, — 

"I was terribly exhausted with the noise and jar of 
the cars, but got through Sunday better than I expect- 
ed. Miss Keyser gave some wonderful tests, in de- 
scribing spirits and giving their names, after lecture. 
It is warm weather, and fruit trees are in bloom forty 
miles north of here." 

Later. " I could not read the papers you sent me on 
account of my eyes, which are very bad, caused partly, 
I think, by my going over to Covington in the wind a 
few days ago. I have tried to get them to let me off 
with this month, but they don't seem disposed to ; so, 
if I keep as well as now, I shall probably have to stay 
the two months out." 

May 8. "No particular change in my health. I 
don't know that I am any worse for being here. I have 
no engagement except the one at Farmington and Mil- 



AT HOME AGAIN. 171 

ford, — the two last Sundays of June, — and shall make 
no more. I have had an invitation to go to Paris, Ky., 
and spend three weeks, but shall not accept. I want 
to get home. My friends urge me to come to Louisville, 
but I am afraid the fatigue of travel would overbalance 
the benefit derived from the pleasant company of 
friends." 

May 11. "I think I shall be able to weather it 
through. The Executive Board met last night and I 
told them I would be glad to be let off after next Sun- 
day, but they wouldn't hear to it at all ; so, unless I lose 
my voice, I shall stay the month out. I sometimes 
think it don't make much difference, as I average about 
as well as when I left home ; but when I feel as I did 
last Monday I want to be home." 

May 21. " One Sunday more and this is over. Yes- 
terday was a terribly hot day. I believe an egg on the 
desk would have cooked enough for my dinner. My 
cane has come very handy, as I have scarcely been able 
to walk a block since I have been here. I ride to the hall, 
and get up stairs with the help of my cane. The reason 
is, that my ankles seem to give way, and they pain me 
nights terribly sometimes. I write this that you may 
not be alarmed to see me looking rather worse than you 
perhaps expect." 

He came home in this condition, and continued to 
suffer exquisitely with his ankles for several days long- 
er ; but home care and the medical aid obtained from a 
clairvoyant physician, Dr. Rowe, of Mason, relieved 
him, so that he determined to fulfill his " one more en- 
gagement" at Farmington and Milford, the last two 
Sundays of June. He got through the first Sunday 
very well, but the second he became so exhausted that 



172 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

he fainted immediately after concluding his evening's 
lecture, and lay in a state of prostration for several days, 
too weak to attempt the journey home. Fortunately 
for him, he was staying at the home of the clairvoyant 
physician, Mrs. McCain, of Milford, mentioned in con- 
nection with his visit to the same place the previous 
winter. The prompt action of this lady, under control 
of her spirit guides, and the tender care bestowed upon 
him, doubtless saved his life at this time. Before leaving 
for home he received a peculiar test of spirit foresight. 
An old physician, whom he had known in earth life, and 
whose funeral he had attended many years previously, 
conversed with him through the mediumship of Mrs. 
McCain, and, after giving him other advice with regard 
to his health, said, " You must give up speaking en- 
tirely for at least six months, or you can not possibly re- 
gain your health. You ought not to address an audience 
again ; but you will be called upon soon to attend the 
funeral of an old friend, which you will feel compelled 
to do, though at great peril to yourself." 

He had been at home but a few days when a messenger 
came to announce the death of Mrs. Hiram Hammond, 
of Onondaga, Mich., she having left the especial request 
that her funeral sermon should be preached by A. B. 
Whiting. Twelve years before, she had asked and re- 
ceived his promise to perform for her that service should 
he survive her, and he felt that he must redeem that 
promise if it were possible. He resolved to go, but, 
though the distance was short, he did not dare attempt 
to go alone ; so I went with him. The distance was 
about thirty-five miles by rail, and we went the evening 
before the day appointed for the funeral, the first Sun- 
day of July. The little journey fatigued him very much, 



LOW STATE OF HEALTH. 173 

and he passed a dreadful night, a night of terrible 
anxiety to me then, but of blissful remembrance now — 
of thankfulness that I was privileged to sustain him 
through that sharp struggle for life ; that mine was the 
hand to which he clung in those fearful paroxysms of 
pain. The morning found him so exhausted as scarcely 
to be able to raise himself from the bed, his stomach re- 
fusing to retain a particle of anything either solid or 
liquid. Yet, when the time came for the services, he 
arose and dressed with my help, though with consider- 
able difficulty ; was assisted into the carriage, and rode 
two miles to the church, where he delivered a most 
beautiful address, of about forty minutes' length, in his 
usual clear and powerful tones, giving no outward sign 
of weakness after the first few sentences. Probably no 
person present suspected that he was suffering from 
more than a slight temporary illness. Not daring to 
trust himself on the cars again, we returned home in an 
easy carriage the same afternoon. He never left Albion 
again. For three weeks and more he was confined to 
the house ; then he seemed to gain strength, and began 
to ride out, and then to walk a short distance every 
pleasant day. This he continued to do through August, 
and we had strong hopes that, when the cool days came, 
he would improve more rapidly. 

On Saturday and Sunday, the 2d and 3d of Sep- 
tember, the Albion Society of Spiritualists held the 
usual Yearly Grove Meeting, at Spectacle Lake. Miss 
Susie Johnson was the speaker engaged. Mrs. Lois 
Waisbroker was also present, and by invitation addressed 
the audience on Sunday morning. It had beert an^ 
nounced upon the notices of the meeting that A. B. 
Whiting (health permitting) would be present. He 



174 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

told the friends, however, that he would not be able to 
speak, even if he were present, so that he might not 
feel under any obligation to go, if he did not feel well 
enough. 

On Saturday he walked out as usual, but did not go 
to the meeting that day. Sunday afternoon, however, 
he rode to the grove, — a distance of two miles, — though 
with no intention of speaking. 

Of course he was eagerly welcomed, and requested 
most urgently to say " just a few words " to the friends 
assembled. To our surprise, he consented, and impelled, 
as it seemed, by an irresistible impulse, extended his re- 
marks to an eloquent and comprehensive address, occu- 
pying about twenty minutes in rapid delivery, and 
closing with an improvisation upon the subject, " "Tis 
only a Question of Time." The power and pathos of that 
last address, that farewell poem, will never be forgotten 
by those who listened to his voice that day. Many 
were moved to tears ; for his words were pervaded by 
a prophetic undertone, touched by the shadow of the 
coming change. Had he stood up with the deliberate 
intent of taking thus his farewell of the spiritual ros- 
trum, he could not have chosen better the words or the 
occasion. He was much exhausted by the effort, though 
he spoke with all the vigor and apparent ease which were 
so eminently characteristic of him as a public speaker. 
He remained and listened to Miss Johnson's lecture, and 
then rode home and entertained several guests at tea with 
his usual pleasant hospitality. The following morning 
he complained somewhat of weariness and nausea, but 
kept up, and spent the time in conversation with us and 
Mrs. Bailey, of Battle Creek, who was our guest. He 
had, the evening previous, expressly desired Miss Johnson 



EXHA US TION. 175 

to take dinner with him that day, and exacted her prom- 
ise to that effect with such peculiar earnestness that 
she felt compelled to accede to the request, although 
at considerable inconvenience. He sat at dinner with 
us, and dispensed the hospitality of his table for the last 
time, referring, in a laughing way, to his inability to par- 
take of the same dishes as the rest, his diet being con- 
fined to soup and oatmeal gruel on account of the 
stomach refusing to retain other food. 

After dinner he bade a cheerful good by to Mrs. 
Bailey, who left for home, conversed with Miss John- 
son a few minutes, and then went to lie down, as was 
his custom. Less than an hour later he called me, and 
asked for a glass of water, complaining of nausea and 
faintness, but desiring me not to disturb Miss Johnson 
(who had gone to he down), or let mother know he was 
sick. This I was accustomed to, as, throughout his 
sickness, he had always chosen to conceal his sufferings 
as much as possible. I therefore stood by him until he 
seemed somewhat relieved, and then, as his hand still 
clasped mine, sat down upon the side of the bed, to wait 
until he should require my assistance to rise. He lay 
quietly a few minutes, then moved uneasily, as if in 
pain; said, in answer to my inquiry, " It seems to me 
I never felt so badly in my life ! " and, as I raised him 
from the pillow, breathed his last in my arms, with a 
struggle so brief that it had passed almost before any 
other person could reach the room. The arms that had 
clasped me convulsively relaxed their hold, and he lay 
sleeping, apparently, as peacefully as a tired child. 

We could scarce believe that the change had indeed 
come ; for his slight improvement had greatly strength- 
ened our hopes of his final recovery. It is true, the 



176 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

" Old Man " had told us that he would be " worse before 
he was better," and that his life would be in the most 
imminent danger until after the fateful month of 
November should be passed ; but there are some calam- 
ities which the mind refuses to conceive as possible, 
until compelled by stern necessity. Those who have 
read the preceding pages will not wonder that we relied 
much upon those angelic guardians, who in so many 
situations of doubt and difficulty had demonstrated their 
power to protect and save ; or that we dared hope that 
in this case, as in many others, they would be able to do 
for us more than they ventured to promise. 

To the public the shock was even more sudden and 
unexpected ; for, except to a very small circle of friends, 
many of the circumstances that rendered his condition 
especially perilous were entirely unknown, particularly 
the presence in his system of the lurking remnants of 
the deadly drug administered seven years previously, 
which to a certain extent defeated the action of remedies 
that might otherwise have availed for his relief. Had 
the malice of enemies survived the lapse of time, it 
might be gratified to know that it had been even a dis- 
tant and indirect cause of his premature death ; but he 
had, for the most part, outlived either his foes or their 
malignity, so that some, who might then have rejoiced 
at seeing him laid low, are sincere mourners noiv. 

What his loss was to the world can be in some meas- 
ure realized by those who thoroughly canvass the story 
of his life, — better by those who, through personal ac- 
quaintance, are qualified to fill up and round the out- 
lines which alone are possible to a work of this kind. 
What the removal of his visible presence was to his 
own> can only be understood by those who have had re- 



DEATH AND FUNERAL. 177 

moved from tliem the support of an earthly arm upon 
which they relied with perfect trust and confidence, 
the sight of an earthly face that was to them the mir- 
ror of heaven. What it would have been without the 
knowledge of his immortal life, his continued love and 
presence, his ever-watchful care, I do not dare im- 
agine. Faith is beautiful and holy ; but thrice blessed 
is knowledge, through life and in the hour of death. 

Funeral services were held at his home in Albion, 
September 6, at three P. M., and his mortal remains de- 
posited in the cemetery at the same place. Miss Susie 
Johnson delivered the address, taking for text, " He has 
fought a good fight ; he has finished his course ; he has kept 
the faith." She was listened to by a large concourse 
of people, of all shades of belief and opinion religiously, 
but who all agreed in their esteem for the arisen one, 
and in deeming her remarks a fitting tribute to his 
memory. Rev. Parker Pillsbury was also present, and 
said a few words. Two of his own musical composi- 
tions — "O, hear my Parting Sigh!" and "Land of 
the so-called Dead" — were sung by a chosen quartet 
to the accompaniment of his own instrument, — that 
melodeon upon which he composed the most of his 
songs, — and the simple, unpretentious ceremonies were 
ended. 

Not only the spiritual papers, but the secular press 
generally, offered tributes of respect to his memory, and 
letters of condolence poured in upon us from individuals 
and societies all over the country ; all of which tokens 
of sympathy were deeply appreciated, although the 
multitude of similar favors received made it impossible 
to reply to each in detail. 

A few of the press notices, chosen almost at random, 
12 



178 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

are appended, together with an abstract of the memo- 
rial sermon preached by Mr. Peebles at Louisville, and a 
poem written expressly for this work, and dedicated to 
his memory, by Mrs. L. E. Bailey, of Battle Creek, 
Mich. 



SELECTIONS FROM PRESS OBITUARIES. 

From the Banner of Light, September 30. 
THE LATE A. B. WHITING. 

Again has the Angel of Deliverance swept suddenly 
down from the upper hights, and loosed from earthly 
bonds the spirit of one of our oldest and ablest lec- 
turers. 

From his home in Albion, Mich., on Monday, Sep- 
tember 4, A. B. Whiting passed to spirit life. He had 
been out of health, but not considered dangerously ill, 
for several months. Only the day before, he had 
spoken a short time at the annual Spiritualists' picnic 
of his towns-people, in a beautiful grove about two miles 
from his home; and I thought, while he was speaking, I 
had never heard him talk more forcibly and eloquently 
in defense of our common cause, and the general prin- 
ciples of progress. He closed his remarks with a soul- 
stirring poem, which, as we afterward reverted to it, 
seemed almost prophetic of the events which followed. 
The subject of the poem was, " Only a Question of 
Time." I dined with him< on Monday, and he remarked 
that he was usually well. Between two and three 
P.M. he left us without even a "good by." The 



OB ITU ART NOTICES. 179 

struggle of separation was but momentary with him, at 
least, and as a peaceful composure settled over his fea- 
tures, we felt that " our loss was his gain." The phy- 
sicians pronounced the immediate cause of his change 
to have been congestion of the heart. 

His funeral was attended by Parker Pillsbury and 
myself. No words of mine will add anything to Mr. 
Whiting's public record ; it is humanity's inheritance, 
and his most fitting eulogy. As a friend remarked to 
us at the funeral, "he died at his post." And as we 
folded the lid over the beautiful blue eyes and draped 
the body for the grave, the words of Paul seemed ap- 
propriate : " He has fought a good fight ; he has finished 
his course ; he has kept the faith ; henceforth is laid up 
for him a crown of righteousness." 

Thus the old workers cotemporary with myself take 
their departure one by one to the higher schools of ex- 
perience, and but a few are left to struggle and counsel 
together here. But O, how inexpressibly comforting 
is the consciousness that it is " only a question of time," 
and we shall rejoin them, and together carry forward 
the grand purposes of being ! 

And while we listen with expectant ears to catch the 
words of wisdom dropping like refreshing dews from 
loving lips in the other and higher life, let us not forget 
to repay their watchful care by our ministries of sym- 
pathy and assistance to those they have left behind. 
We hope Mr. Whiting's numerous friends throughout 
the country will send words of friendly appreciation 
and comfort to his mother and sister, who are lonely, 
though not alone. 

Susie M. Johnsok. 

Detroit, September 7, 1871. 



180 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

From the Banner of Light, October 14. 

The Society of Spiritualists at Port Huron, Mich., 
passed the following resolutions September 10, in re- 
spect to the memory of A. B. Whiting : — 

Whereas, The physical body of A. B. Whiting has 
yielded to the ravages of disease, and the beautiful soul 
that once animated it has taken its flight to a purer 
clime and a higher life, be it therefore, 

Resolved, That this Society have always entertained 
the highest regard for his talent and appreciation of his 
labors, and realize that, in his transition, the cause of 
Spiritualism has sustained an irreparable loss. 

Resolved, That the Spiritual Society of Port Huron, 
Mich., do hereby tender to his bereaved mother and 
sister an expression of our sympathy and heartfelt re- 
gret. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be for- 
warded to his mother and sister, and that the spiritual 
press be requested to publish the same. 

J. S. Newell, Pres. 

S. D. Pace, Sec. pro tern. 

From the Albion Recorder, September 8. 
DEATH OF A. B. WHITING. 

The people of Albion were surprised and pained to 
learn of the sudden death, by rupture of a blood-vessel, 
or of the heart itself, on Monday afternoon, of A. B. 
Whiting. Mr. W. had been in feeble health for some 
time, but was able to be about, and attended the spirit- 
ualist picnic a day or two before, on which occasion he 



OBITUARY NOTICES. 181 

spoke briefly, but not in any labored effort. He was a 
man of strict integrity, and fine intellectual attainments. 
As a lecturer and advocate of the faith of the Spiritu- 
alists he was widely known, and exerted a great influ- 
ence. His funeral was attended by citizens generally, 
and by friends from other places. Remarks were made 
by Miss S. Johnson and Parker Pillsbury. The follow- 
ing sketch of the life of Mr. Whiting has been fur- 
nished us : — 

He was born, December 14, 1835, in Plymouth 
County, Mass., where he received his education, gradu- 
ating at East Bridgewater Academy. He was carefully 
educated, but never entered upon a classical course. 
As a boy at school he was remarkable for his facility in 
mastering his studies. Endowed with a wonderful 
memory, he seemed to acquire by intuition, and, what 
is singular in one who learns so readily, he seldom 
forgot anything. His delicate health never permit- 
ted him to indulge in the rude sports of boys, for 
which he manifested no inclination. He rather sought 
the society of those older than himself, in whose con- 
versation he appeared to delight, but seldom took part. 
He seemed always to live in the world of thought, and 
not of action. 

He came to Brooklyn in this state, with his parents 
and sister, in 1853, where he lived, doing what labor 
his health would permit, upon the farm of his father. 
In 1860 he removed to Albion with his mother and 
sister, his father having died, which place he made his 
residence up to the time of his death. 

He began his career as a public speaker at the early 
age of eighteen, advocating the cause of Spiritualism, 
to which he devoted the best energies of seventeen 



182 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

years of his life. His energy and perseverance were 
untiring, and he died with " harness on his back." 

Notwithstanding the unpopularity of his faith, he 
won u golden opinions from all sorts of people," and 
commanded the respect and esteem of all who knew 
him. Amidst the fierce assaults of vituperation and 
calumny he was never known to swerve from the right 
or falter in his course. 

His death has left a deep void in the ranks of those 
with whom he was identified, which can not be easily 
filled. 

His memory will be ever loved and respected by 
those whose privilege it was to know him. He was 
widely known, having delivered addresses in nearly 
every large city in the Union. And many there are 
throughout the land who will be sincere mourners at 
the sad news of his death. 

In the private walks of life he was an exemplary 
man. His honesty and integrity were the common 
remark of all. " He was the stainless, spotless man," 
one who would " speak no slander — no, nor listen 
to it." 

" We have lost him ; he is gone. 
We know him now; all narrow jealousies 
Are silent, and we see him as he moved, — 
How modest, kindly, all-accomplished, wise, 
With what sublime repression of himself, 
And in what limits, and how tenderly. 
. . . And through all this tract of years 
Wearing the white flower of a blameless life, 
Before a thousand peering littlenesses." 



OBITUARY NOTICES. 183 

From the Port Huron Commercial, September 13, 1871. 
IN MEMORIAM. — A. B. WHITING. 

The many friends and admirers of A. B. Whiting 
will deeply regret to learn that he departed this life at 
his home in Albion, in this state, on Monday, the 4th 
inst., at the age of thirtj r -six years. Although he had 
long been in delicate health, his decease at this time 
was totally unexpected. Only the day previous, to the 
surprise of many to whom his weak state of health was 
known, he had taken part in a grove meeting of Spirit- 
ualists, at Spectacle Lake, where he delivered an ad- 
dress which is described as one of the most eloquent 
efforts of his life. The unwonted exertion upon this 
occasion probably hastened his departure, and was, we 
may say, his last act upon earth. He went home 
apparently more than usually prostrated, although he 
complained but little. On Monday about noon, com- 
plaining of feeling "very strange," he lay down, and 
shortly after, a member of his family, hearing him make 
some unusual noise, went to his side, and found him 
just breathing his last. He passed away easily, not 
seeming to realize the nearness of the summoning angel 
till the final warning came. His remains were followed 
to the grave on Wednesday by a large number of sor- 
rowing friends, the burial services being conducted by 
Miss Susie Johnson, assisted by Rev. Parker Pillsbury. 

In this city, last Sunday, a memorial address was 
given in the evening by Mrs. Smith, at the close of 
which Dr. Pace, after some brief and feeling remarks, 
offered a series of resolutions of respect, which were 
unanimously adopted by the society. We may also 



184 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

incidentally state that Dr. Pace, in his official capacity 
as American consul at Sarnia, caused his flag to be sus- 
pended at half mast during the day after the reception 
of the news of Mr. Whiting's decease. 

So closed a useful and a busy life. For seventeen 
years, or since he was eighteen years of age, Mr. Whit- 
ing has been in the lecture field advocating the cause 
of Spiritualism. To this cause he gave without stint 
the treasures of his rich young existence, and crowded 
into a few short, busy years the work of a lifetime. 
Many who read this will remember him when, a mere 
boy, he appeared in our midst, and spoke with the 
same fervor, the same tone of conviction, which glori- 
fied the efforts of his riper years. He was a remarka- 
ble man, with a gift of burning eloquence which took 
all hearts by storm. 

He was, with his other gifts, a natural musician and 
a musical composer of no ordinary merit. His songs 
are popular wherever the English language is spoken, 
and in such surpassingly sweet and tender creations as 
"Lena de l'Orme," "Leoline," "Touch the Lute 
gently," "The Wind is in the Chestnut Bough," &c, 
he has called forth such touches of sweet harmony as 
will live in the hearts of people who will come after us, 
long beyond the time when, in the busy whirl of the 
world, the gifted composer would else have been for- 
gotten. 

We do not wish to close our tribute without some 
slight reference to Mr. Whiting's political labors. He 
was all his life an ardent Democrat, and during the can- 
vass of 1868 took the stump in favor of the principles 
he cherished. Those who have heard him will bear us 
witness that he carried with him into the political 



OBITUARY NOTICES. 185 

arena the same brilliant and captivating style of argu- 
ment which characterized him upon the religious plat- 
form, only intensified by the exigencies of the calling. 
Those who listened to him with such rapt delight 
upon the occasion of his visit to this place, in his politi- 
cal capacity, whatever may be their religious differences 
with him, will, we are certain, think of him kindly. 

He always appeared to have a preference for Port 
Huron and her people, and to visit here always appeared 
to give him especial pleasure. His circle of warm 
friends was not limited to those of his own belief, but 
numbered those of all beliefs and all parties. With his 
music and his attractive conversational powers, he was 
a charming addition to the social circle ; and even when 
his bodily sufferings pressed heavily upon him, as they 
often did in his later years, he never relaxed his efforts 
to be agreeable. He was never married, and rarely 
referred to the subject in his conversation ; but from the 
fact that the burden of his songs was principally the 
" tender passion," we have often fancied that perhaps, 
in his early youth, there was some one whom he had loved 
and lost, and some time hoped to meet and be happy 
with " over there." No word was ever said against his 
private reputation, and scandal was never associated with 
his name, which he took with him unblemished to his 
grave. His habits were simple and unaffected, and his 
life throughout exceptionally pure and blameless. He 
resided with his mother and sister in a pleasant home in 
Albion, where the family had the sincere respect of all 
who knew them. His friends were about him in his 
last moments. Loving hands laid his body to rest, and 
loving hearts will cherish his memory until they meet 
him in that fair land of promise " beyond the breakers." 



186 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 



MEMORIAL SERMON AT LOUISVILLE. 

From the Louisville Courier-Journal, October 16, 1871. 
THE DREAD FUTURE. 

A very good audience gathered in the west wing of 
Weisiger Hall, yesterday morning, to hear Rev. Mr. J. 
M. Peebles. His discourse was upon the life and death 
of A. B. Whiting, a gentleman who was well known in 
this city. It will be read with interest by the many 
friends of Mr. Whiting. The audience last night was 
much larger. There was scarcely standing-room for 
those in attendance. Mr. Peebles is an able speaker, 
and charms his hearers not only with his oratory, but 
with a freshness and vigor of thought that is striking. 
The following is only a synopsis of his address in the 
forenoon : — 

They rest from their labors, and their works do follow 

them. 

Philosophically speaking there is no death, — only 
change onward and upward for ever. It is evidently 
impossible to find absolute rest in the universe. Mo- 
tion is everywhere, and change, by methods inverse 
and diverse, is a fixed law, ever evolving the more 
etherealized forms of life. Leaves are now falling from 
the maple, the oak, and the elm ; friends are falling ; 
all your eyes have wept and hearts ached ere the pres- 
ent occasion. How true that man, the earthly man, 
" dieth and wasteth away " ! 

Winter dies in northern latitudes that spring may 
carpet the earth in grasses and grains ; and man, the 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 187 

mortal of man, that his spirit, clisinthralled from the 
physical organization, may traverse space and pass on 
in its path of destiny toward perfection. 

Being knows no destruction. Annihilation is a mean- 
ingless term. The conservation of forces demonstrates 
this position. It is physically impossible for some- 
thing to become nothing ; all that was is, and eternally 
will be. Death, so called, is no enemy, but, natural 
and beautiful, it must precede immortal life, as must 
the acorn the oak, or the bud the opening flower. 
Stars that fade from our skies fade to illumine other 
portions of the sidereal heavens, and friends — our 
cherished friends — that pass on through the valley of 
shadows, go to people the love-lands of immortality. 
They take with them consciousness, reason, memory, 
and their souls' holiest affections. Pure love is immor- 
tal. This true, our dear departed loving us still, they 
delight to project their thoughts earth- ward ; delight to 
impress us with the increasing beauties of their pro- 
gressive existence ; delight in becoming to us what the 
facts of the nineteenth century demonstrate — the actu- 
ality of ministering spirits. 

Churchmen joining hands with deists and atheists in 
denying present inspirations, revelations, and communi- 
cations from the spirit world, generally entertain erro- 
neous conceptions of death, speaking of it as a " tyrant," 
as "the king of terrors," and picturing it as a grim, 
bony skeleton, with scythe mercilessly mowing down 
humanity. And then, to intensify the horror, they will 
join in this Christian hymn : — 

" Hark ! from the tombs a doleful sound ; 
Mine ears, attend the cry ; 
Ye living men, come view the ground 
Where you must shortly lie." 



188 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

Such hymns, with the accompanying theological dog- 
mas, — the resurrection of the body, the day of judg- 
ment and future endless hell torments, — are the pitia- 
ble remnants of an imported paganism. The preaching 
of these and other unreasonable chimerical doctrines, 
is filling the country with a scoffing infidelity. 

To Spiritualists death is birth — the second birth, into 
a higher state of existence. The body returns to earth, 
to reappear again only in grasses, flowers, and forests. 
As well ask the oak to return to its acorn, the winged 
bird to return to the nest and reinhabit the shell, as 
to ask an immortalized spirit to return to some gloomy 
graveyard and take on the dead material body. " Flesh 
and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God. " Paul 
further said, " We sow not the body which shall be." 
The body which shall be is the " spiritual body," and es- 
sential spirit is the life, the conscious intelligence of this 
spiritual body, connecting mortals with immortals and 
angels with God, who alone hath underived immortality. 

All the popular religions of the day rest upon tradi- 
tions. Spiritualism alone rests upon the basic founda- 
tion of present, tangible facts. It is the living witness 
of the future existence. Considered historically, it 
unites the past and present. Referring to the Bibles 
of all nations, and especially the Old and New Testa- 
ments, we see that immortalized beings held conscious 
communion with mortals for some four thousand years. 
Angels or spiritual beings appeared to Abraham, Hagar, 
Lot, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, Gideon, Ezekiel, and Zacha- 
riah. Also to Mary, the mother of Jesus ; to the two 
Marys at the tomb ; to the shepherds on Judean hills ; 
to Peter in prison ; to Peter, James, and John, on the 
mount ; to John, on the Isle of Patmos ; and nearly all 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 189 

of the scriptural characters. These immortalized beings 
are sometimes called "angels," " angels of the Lord," 
" men in shining garments," " men in white garments," 
" men of God ; " " the man Gabriel ; " " thy fellow-ser- 
vant," &c, showing them to have been once men living 
upon the earth. They appeared for thousands of years, 
according to the Scriptures — then why not now? Has 
God changed? Have God's laws changed? To ask, is 
to answer the inquiry. How truly did the preacher 
say (Eccl. hi. 15), " That which hath been is now ; 
. . . and God requireth that which is past." More- 
over, Jesus said, " These signs shall follow them that 
believe. . . . They shall lay hands on the sick and 
heal them; make the lame to walk, blind to see, deaf to 
hear," &c. These signs do follow spiritualist media — 
but churchmen have lost the spiritual gifts promised in 
the New Testament. The apostate and " fallen" con- 
dition of our Christendom is a painful theme for reflec- 
tion. It is Babylon, and nothing more, while Spiritual- 
ism is original Christianity — the Christianity of Jesus 
and the apostles. The earliest of the Christian fathers 
had spiritual gifts — such as trance, vision, inspiration, 
and prophecy. So had the most distinguished men and 
women of the ages — Constantine, Tasso, Savonarola, 
Joan of Arc, Louis XVI., George Fox, Ann Lee, John 
Wesley, Baron Swedenborg, and hosts of others. 

Our friend and your friend, A. B. Whiting, who has 
recently ascended to the homes of the angels, was a 
most able and efficient advocate of the phenomena and 
philosophy of Spiritualism. He consecrated to this 
work seventeen years of his life, speaking in public the 
very day previous to his translation to the world of 
beatific blessedness. He had been in feeble health 



190 BIOGRAPHT OF A. B. WHITING. 

nearly a year, but generally filled his lecture engage- 
ments up to the summer months. Resting a while from 
his mental labors, his most intimate friends thought him 
gradually improving, and encouraged his attendance at 
a grove meeting in the vicinity. He addressed the 
audience in his usual happy and eloquent style, and at 
the conclusion improvised a beautiful poem. The next 
day, suddenly complaining of illness, and tenderly lean- 
ing upon his sister Augusta's shoulder, he calmly 
breathed his last in her arms. Our loss is his gain. 
Residing ten years in Michigan, within an hour's ride 
of Albion, I frequently shared the social fellowship and 
generous hospitalities of friend Whiting's home, as well 
as the cheering companionship of the mother and sis- 
ter, with whom we deeply sympathize in this trying 
affliction. 

It is but justice to say, that those who knew Mr. 
Whiting best esteemed him the highest. He was a 
man of positive convictions, of keen moral perceptions, 
and exalted aspirations. In his public ministrations he 
was overshadowed by angelic influence, an ancient 
Egypto-Persian, a cardinal conversant with ecclesias- 
tical history, and others, who had long summered in the 
spirit world. Touching historical matters relating to 
the church, he had, as a lecturer, no equal in our ranks. 
Superstition quailed and bigotry hid its hateful head 
before the thrilling inspirations that dropped like pearls 
from his lips. His musical gifts were of a superior char- 
acter. In public meetings and at state conventions he 
sang his own compositions, thrilling the people with 
such melodies as doubtless obtain among the harpers 
that the mystic John heard in heaven. Our noble 
brother, who, at the bid of the death angel, has gone up 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 191 

one step higher, loved Spiritualism — loved his co-work- 
ers in the spiritual vineyard; and, be it said to his 
lasting praise, he never, through envy or jealousy, vil- 
ified or in any way sought to undermine the influence 
of his fellow-toilers, engaged in constructing the same 
spiritual temple. Many would do well to emulate those 
virtues that characterized his public life. His was a 
royal nature ; and now, resting from his earthly "labors, 
his works do follow him." 

Last evening, attending a very pleasant and har- 
monial stance, our brother announced his presence, and 
assured us that he should be with us to-day, while 
speaking of the after-life and a fadeless immortality. 
He then gave us this message : — 

" Tell the people in your discourse that in passing to 
this state of existence I found that the principles and 
doctrines I had taught under the control of my angel 
guides were true, and that, if possible, I cherish deeper 
desires for the promulgation of the heavenly truths of 
Spiritualism than when in the body. Much that was 
faith then is fruition now. I bask in the smiles of those 
'gone before,' and am supremely happy. My vision is 
enlarged, and the future is all radiant with the grandeur 
and glory of eternal progress. The work in which I 
was engaged must and will go on to complete victory. 
I had hoped to address my Louisville friends once more 
before passing to this life, but it was not so ordered. 
Pleasant are my memories of them and all the friends 
of earth. I find this world more real and beautiful than 
I conceived it to be, even in the moments of my loftiest 
inspirations. I shall speak to you again. Good night." 

This message was given in an earnest, pathetic tone, 
touching the depths of our sympathetic natures. O, 



192 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

how richly are we blessed in this privilege of convers- 
ing with our loved ones in heaven ! Our noble self- 
sacrificing workers are one by one putting off their 
sandals, and passing the death-rolling Jordan, where 
their white feet press the golden shores of immortal 
blessedness. The Rev. Dr. J. B. Ferguson, Mrs. Al- 
cinda Wilhelm Slade, and more recently brother A. B. 
Whiting, all eloquent advocates of the spiritual phi- 
losophy, have put on their crowns of rejoicing. Angels 
are their companions, and Spiritualism is just as much 
better than any churchal system of religion as knowl- 
edge is superior to faith. " Add to your faith knowl- 
edge," said the apostle Paul. Spiritualists have done 
this, and have been blessed in the doing. 

Spiritualism has no creed ; Spiritualists can never be- 
come a sect. To crystallize is to die. Sectarisms, under 
the name of religion, have drenched nations in blood, 
and cursed this beautiful earth quite too long already. 
Excelsior is the divine word of the Harmonial Phi- 
losophy. 

It has demonstrated a future progressive existence, 
converting atheists, deists, and secularists to a knowl- 
edge of immortality, and revealed the immutable law 
of compensation. It has unrolled before us a new 
geography of the heavens, and testified that no personal 
devil raves "over there," nor brimstone flames scent 
and soil the garments of the risen. Unbarring the gates 
of death, it has brought the loved inhabitants of the 
summer-land into our cities, our homes, our chambers, 
permitting us to clasp their shining hands, and listen to 
the music of their voices. It has given the world new 
inventions in mechanism, and laid open to view the 
heretofore hidden laws of magnetic reciprocity. It has 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 193 

not only foretold future events of vast moment to in- 
dividuals and nations when aflame with the living fires 
of prophecy, but it has warned the more susceptible of 
steamer burnings and fearful railway collisions. With 
the wand of clairvoyance it has scanned ocean beds, 
described geologic strata, suggested new planets, and 
measured starry distances, while scientists were lag- 
gardly adjusting their instruments of observation. 
Under the name of psychometry, it has read by oral 
emanations the unwritten history of Egyptian pyramids 
and Assyrian ruins, of Grecian culture and Druidic 
worship, and can trace the life lines of mortals by the 
touch of ringlet or garment. Each act is photographed 
upon the conscious sensorium. The judgment seat is 
within, and memory is the recording angel. 

Strengthening the weak, warning the erring, waking 
the dormant, un vailing the treacherous, and startling the 
sinful, it continues to re-thunder the wilderness words 
of the Baptist, " Repent — confess and forsake your 
sins." Only the u pure in heart" see God. To "him 
that overcometh " is the promise of access to the tree 
of life. Kindling in all believing souls the loftiest en- 
deavor, Spiritualism is the sweetest answer to prayer, 
and the inspiring genius of every reform movement of 
the times. Meaning science and progress, morality and 
pure religion, it is God's living word to humanity 
through angels and ministering spirits. " O, come, let 
us worship in its temple." 
13 



194 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 



MEMORIAL POEM. 

MY BROTHER STILL LIVES. 

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF A. B. WHITING. 

My brother lives ! O, joy to know, 
Although we mourn him here, 

He lives again, freed from all pain, 
In yonder heavenly sphere. 

Yes, he still lives ! my noble friend, 
Although on earth no more 

We listen to the joyous songs 
He sang in days of yore. 

Others his music oft will chant ; 

His words be often sung : 
While his familiar voice we miss, 

Our lips with grief are dumb. 

How much we miss him none can tell, 
Save those who knew his worth ; 

Yet never we one moment doubt 
The soul's immortal birth. 

Thy son still lives ! a spirit bright, 

O, mother, pure and true, 
And often sends fond words of love, 

Sweet messages, to you. 



MEMORIAL POEM. 195 

Our brother lives ! dear sister, kind, 

In whom we gladly trace 
Resemblance to that noble form 

And well-remembered face. 

And he has left to you a trust, 
Which you have well begun — 

The work which he so suddenly 
Was called to leave undone* 

But we shall miss his earnest words — 

The pulpit, too, and press, 
Have lost in him an advocate, 

Their ablest and their best. 

His memory lives in noble deeds ; 

For truly it is said, 
No words of slander ever passed 

The lips now cold and dead. 

He lives in name from east to west ; 

The north and south proclaim, 
His eloquence has justly earned 

An eminence to fame. 

L. E. Bailey. 

Battle Cbeek, Michigan. 



196 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CONCLUDING WORDS. — HIS LECTURES AND IMPROVISA- 
TION. — FAVORITE SUBJECTS. 

In conclusion, I have but few words to offer. Prop- 
erly speaking, my task is already done ; since to trace 
the pathway of the ascended soul is not within the 
scope of my intent, and on the hither shore its wander- 
ings are ended. Yet it may be that a brief backward 
glance at the life so short, and yet so long, will not 
seem inappropriate. 

First, with regard to his spiritual sight, manner of 
speaking, &c, I will give his own statement as em- 
bodied in a paper prepared by him at the request of 
Mrs. Hardinge, in 1867. After speaking of his early 
possession of the open vision, its temporary withdrawal, 
and final return, he says, — 

"From that day to this, — -over thirteen years, — I 
have not been twenty-four hours at once without this 
opened vision ; and I am assured that this gift will never 
wholly leave me again, and that the changes through 
which I was passing, mentally and physically, made it 
necessary that it should be taken from me for the six 
years. Generally speaking, the possession of this gift 
is productive of far more pleasure than pain, but there 
are times when I see so many, and they come in such 
crowds, that it produces a temporary annoyance — a 
sort of pressure upon the sight : then my kind guar- 
dian will draw something like a vail between me and 



IMPR O VISA TION. 197 

them, and they are shut from my sight for the time 
being. 

" Since I have been a public lecturer I rarely get 
any communication direct from any, except my own 
circle and personal friends. The mass of spirits that 
I see make no more impression upon me than the 
crowds I would meet in Broadway, New York, at mid- 
day. I recognize my friends, and pass on. I see, not 
only the dead, but the living also, in places where their 
bodies are not. This, however, is not a constant gift ; 
nor do I see these as clearly as those who have left the 
earthly mold. I used sometimes to get the two con- 
founded, and mistake the living for the dead, and vice 
versa. I think such mistakes on the part of mediums 
lead to many cases of mistaken identity and miscalled 
falsehood on the part of spirits. Now I rarely mistake 
the double for a departed spirit. ... 

" It is now thirteen years since I have followed this 
changing life, under the guidance of true and faithful 
guides, who have never deceived or misled me in the 
slightest degree. During these thirteen years I have 
seen all phases of spirit control and demonstration of 
which I have ever heard, and recognize each as filling 
its appropriate sphere. I am not one of those who 
would wish to pull up the ladder on which I have as- 
cended, or decry any fornl of mediumship, however 
humble; nor do I, like some, hold to the vain belief 
that I have reached, or ever shall reach, a condition 
so exalted as to be above or beyond the assistance and 
inspiration of my spirit friends. 

" My manner of speaking is wholly inspirational. I 
rarely know beforehand what I am to say, or even the 
particular theme upon which I am to treat, but am fully 



198 BIOGRAPHT OF A. B. WHITING. 

conscious of what I say at the time it is spoken, and my 
remembrance thereof is about the same that I would 
have of another's discourse to which I had listened. 
Under whatever circumstances, or upon whatever theme 
I may speak, I recognize the same support. It has 
never failed me in a single instance. It has been to me 
an educator, bringing forward historical facts unknown 
to me previous to their utterance, but, when sought 
out, found uniformly correct in substance, and some- 
times verbatim — philosophy of which in my youth I 
was ignorant, and language that, of myself, I was in- 
capable of using. These were among the — to me — 
strange things of my early experience. Now they are 
part of myself in mind, and matters of e very-day life 
in reality, as well as form and expression. 

" I have thus obtained a good, thorough education 
without the routine of study or the prestige of collegiate 
honor. Connected with my speaking has been the gift 
of improvisation upon almost any given subject. Prob- 
ably in my lecturing career I have composed extem- 
poraneous poems upon more than two thousand occa- 
sions. Last winter I kept account of the number of 
different themes improvised upon in a space including 
November and December, 1866, and the result was 
forty-two ; which, I think, would be a fair average for 
the last twelve years." 

In later years the aid and support of which he speaks 
continued with him, and became even more intimately 
blended with his consciousness, as he grew nearer allied 
to the spiritual realm. It was only at rare intervals, 
when physical weakness bore heavily upon him, that he 
passed into the utter rest of unconscious trance. 

His favorite themes were of an historical character, 



FAVORITE SUBJECTS. 199 

particularly such as related to the rise and fall of 
nations, civilizations, and religious institutions, with the 
lessons to be drawn therefrom. With this class of sub- 
jects he became especially conversant, but by no means 
confined himself to those. As I have before observed, 
he had well-defined opinions upon most subjects, and 
was always willing to state and defend those opinions 
upon all suitable occasions. 

He affirmed the existence in some form of the spirit- 
ual ideas of immortality and spirit communion, or rev- 
elation, as basic principles in all religions of which we 
have authentic record, and in the progress of religious 
ideas in the past saw the type of the greater progress 
possible in the future. 

He declared, that to assert a finality in religious 
belief and attainment was as absurd as to assert a 
finality in scientific research, and that there was no 
more danger to true religion from that fact, on the one 
hand, than there was to science, on the other. He as- 
serted the supremacy of reason, knowledge, and demon- 
stration over mere faith and belief. 

He often chose subjects of a scientific cast, as the 
" Antiquity of Man" and " Origin of the Races," and, 
especially in addressing literary societies, a still more 
extended variety of topics — "The Philosophy of 
Life," "Happiness the Desire and Destiny of Man," 
"The Ideal and the Real," "Mission of the Beauti- 
ful," and many others. 

His political addresses were always devoted to the 
discussion of principles, with their logical tendencies 
when carried out in the administration of government, 
and not of mere personal issues. Perhaps his most 
famous efforts in the political field were those of 1868, 



200 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

wherein he treated of " The three Corner-stones of 
Despotism." These he defined to be — first, war 
with its consequence — a standing army; second, a 
large and increasing public debt; and third, a union 
of church and state. 

His line of argument consisted in proving by histor- 
ical parallels that, wherever these three requisites had 
been secured, the result was always and inevitably the 
same, namely, despotic rule, under whatever name of 
courtesy it might be called ; and in pointing out the 
danger that in his view seemed to threaten to lay open 
the possibility of such a combination, and the method 
of defeating that possibility, and thereby averting the 
danger. 

I might add incident after incident illustrative of his 
habits of mind, his readiness of resource and prompt- 
ness in action, his unswerving integrity and utter fear- 
lessness in defense of principle, his constancy in friend- 
ship, and, more than all, the chivalric devotion to his 
own that made his watchful care a shield and a defense 
ever round about them ; — but of what avail ? 

The fullest and frankest biography must be to some 
extent superficial. Every human soul lives two lives — 
the inner and real, only shining dimly through the 
outer, the seemingly more actual existence. Yet the 
latter is all that we can grasp sufficiently to embody 
in words and give it to the world. The richness of 
the inner life can not be thus revealed, but stands — a 
sacred mystery, only to be comprehended by the quick- 
ened sense of kindred souls. Therefore it is that the 
sternest conflicts of life can never be recorded ; that 
through the darkest paths of our spiritual pilgrimage 
we must walk alone — absolutely alone, so far as the 



CONCLUSION. 201 

outer senses reach ; while much from which we suffer 
most acutely could never be revealed to others ; still 
more, could never be understood, if it were revealed ; 
and still more, ought never to be repeated, if it could 
be understood. 

It is customary, as I am aware, to conclude a work 
like this with an estimate of the life and character of 
the subject. This I shall not attempt, lest, in the 
endeavor to restrain eulogy within the bounds of 
modesty, I should fail in justice. His life and labors, 
with their present and possible results, speak for him 
more eloquently than words, and rear unto his memory 
the surest, most enduring monument. 



PART II. 
JE> O E M S . 

BT 

A. B. WHITING. 

203 



EARLY POEMS. 



MUSIC. 

Music, sweet Music, thou wondrous theme, 
Of which poets write and lovers dream ; 
Sorrow and pain are forgotten in thee, 
And sadness gives place to laughter and glee. 

Music, sweet Music, thy charms all admire, 
The blithesome youth and the gray-haired sire ; 
In lowliest hovel or gilded saloon, 
Alike they call thee a precious boon. 

Dear to the laborer, hastening away 

To his welcome rest at close of day, 

Dear to the noble, the prince, and the queen, 

Gift of the Most High where'er thou art seen. 

Music, blest Music, all men name thee fair, 
Pride of the earth and gem of the air ; 
No other enchantment like thine doth allure 
The care-burdened mind unto all that is pure. 

205 



206 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 



PRO LIBERTATE. 

Glide on, majestic, rolling river ! 
Give thanks unto the mighty Giver 

That thou art free ! 
No chains can ever stop thy course ; 
Thou canst not be subdued by force ; 

Flow on in glee. 

O lofty mountain, towering high, 
Thy summit seems to reach the sky ; 

Thou, too, art free : 
Still thou wilt catch the sun's first ray, 
The moon's pale light ; a tyrant's prey 

Thou canst not be. 

Ah, no ! 'Tis not the lofty mount, 
Flowing river or silvery fount, 

That is not free. 
'Tis man — O, cruel thought ! A slave ? 
O God, who life unto us gave, 

Can such things be ? 

Yes, e'en in freedom's boasted land 
Man is deprived by might's strong hand 

Of liberty ; 
Man by his fellow-man is sold 
For filthy gain — " for paltry gold." 

What mockery ! 



EARLY POEMS. 207 

Then let the tears for Freedom shed 
Draw vengeance on the hoary head 

Of Tyranny! 
And let us strike one mighty blow, 
Give one strong effort to o'erthrow 

All slavery ! 

Yes, strike ! Let tyrant custom die, 
Its advocates for quarter fly 

To liberty. 
Strike ! for the flag of freedom waves 
O'er freedom's land and freemen's slaves ; 

Let them be free. 



IN MEMORIAM. 
April 1, 1853. 

I had a brother once, 

A mild and beauteous boy, 

A pleasant, young companion, 
My boyhood's pride and joy ; 

Time's unwearied footsteps 
Still onward swiftly glide ; 

Eight long, long years have passed 
Since Willie died. 

But thought still turneth back, 

With fond recollection, 
To him, the object of 

My youth's strong affection. 



208 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

No tear-drop glistened in my eye ; 

I neither sobbed nor sighed ; 
They told me that I cared not, 
When Willie died. 

O, could they but have known, 
What none may ever know, 

How deep the inward wound, 
The heart's unspoken woe; 

For, though I showed no grief, 
Although I never cried, 

My child-heart sobbed and moaned 
When Willie died. 



O, THINK OF ME! 

O, think of me when fortune's flowers 
Are round thy pathway strewn ; 

O, think of me in pleasure's hours, 
Wherever thou mayst roam. 

O, think of me in adversity, 
When fortune frowns on thee ; 

When sorrow checks thy buoyancy, 
Then think, — O, think of me ! 

O, think, then, how in former years 
We roamed o'er field and glade, 

And gave no thought to fashion's gear, 
To money or parade. 



EARLY POEMS. 209 

O, think of me, although I go 

In other climes to roam, 
Where other flowers may blow 

Than deck my childhood's home. 

O, think of me ! Our paths may blend 

Nor meet on earth again, 
But years may pass, and still your friend 

I ever shall remain. 
14 



WEITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 

1855-1857. 

FLOAT ON. 

Float on, float on, my heavenly bark, 

Above the earthly tide ; 
Bear swiftly o'er earth's trials dark 

The joys that with thee glide. 

Float on, and truth's serene starlight 

Shall guide thee swiftly o'er 
Earth's breaking waves and gloomy night, 

To heaven's happy shore. 

Float on, my graceful moving bark, 

And ever be my guide ; 
I'll ever to thy whisperings hark, 

And by them will abide. 

Float on, and in the silent night 

Thine aid I will invoke 
To bear me to a land of light, 

Released from error's yoke. 

'Tis done ; on wisdom's plain I stand, 

Free as the truth I breathe, in heaven's happy land ; 

Float on, blest messenger of hope, 

And minds of earth to wisdom ope. 

210 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 211 



I LOVED. 

I loved a song-bird of the spring, 
That sung his wild songs of glee ; 

I loved him for his notes of joy ; 
They sounded sweet to me. 

I loved a little violet peeping 
Above the mossy ground, 

And the ivy wild a creeping 
Upon the rocky mound. 

I loved the white-capped waves, 
Dashing wildly and free ; 

The sunny shores they lave 
Were beautiful to me. 

I loved the deep, blue sea, 
And the sea-bird's shrill cry, 

The proud ship beneath me, 
And the cloudlets on high, 

I loved the genial clime 
Of my own sweet Italy ; 

I loved the gentle chime 
Of love's sweet minstrelsy. 

I loved its clear, blue sky ; 

I loved its fertile shore ; 
I said, " My own sweet Italy, 

I ne'er will leave thee more." 



212 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

I loved a beauteous maiden, 

Radiant, rare, and beauty-laden ; 

When she was near me 

Heaven was around me, 

The sweet spell with magic bound me. 

I love heaven's glories now ; 

I've passed from earth's dark sphere ; 
With love's own crown upon my brow 

I come, your life to cheer. 

I love all things that God hath made, — 
The flower, the tree, and singing-bird ; 

The murmuring stream, the leafy glade, 
Are all to me as God's own word. 

God's word is found in everything : 

Go, then, and wisdom learn 
From flowers in bloom, and birds that sing ; 

Learn error to detect and truth discern. 

'Tis holy love, — O, heavenly word ! — 

That calls us from our home 
To tell the tales that we have heard 

In heaven's celestial dome, — 

Where song-birds ever warble free, 

And fairer roses bloom 
Than earth can e'er afford to thee, 

In cypress wreaths of gloom. 

Riches that never fade away, 
Love-joys that never die, 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 213 

Roses that bloom not to decay, 
Truth ever hovering nigh, — 

These are the gems of heaven, my home, 

Peace, harmony, and love ; — 
That little word thrills every soul, 

From earth to spheres above. 

O, love ! sweet theme ! on thee I dwell ; 
For thee I tune my silvery harp, 

And touch my light guitar ; 
For thee my notes in rapture swell, 
For thee I tune the golden shell, 

And sing of worlds afar. 



THE FOUNT OF LIGHT. 

O, COME to the fount of living light, 
And drink of waters pure and bright, 
Which come from God, divine above, 
Whose attributes are truth and love. 
O, come, and pluck the fairest flowers, 
That bloom in heaven's Elysian bowers; 
We'll weave them in a garland bright, 
And fill thy soul with calm delight. 

O, come to us when trials grieve ; 
For we thy side will never leave. 
We'll drive dark sorrows all away, 
By kindling truth's immortal ray ; 



214 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

We'll make the earth with praises ring, 
As we our songs of glory sing, 
And bring the angels' purest joy, 
Which cares of earth can not destroy. 

O, come to the mount of wisdom high ; 
We'll lead thy way o'er earth and sky, 
O'er rock, and glade, and silvery stream, 
Where'er a ray of love shall gleam. 
O, come where truth fills every soul, 
And heavenly strains of music roll, 
To blend all joys in harmony, 
In heaven's own rapt melody. 

O, blend our lays, ye mortal throng, 

With earthly poesie and song ; 

Let earth be filled with heavenly love, 

All souls in gladness ever rove. 

Angels bright will guide your way 

Where love and truth their charms display ; 

Will guide your course from sphere to sphere, 

And ever be your guardians dear. 

O, come where heavenly beauty dwells, 
Where mirth and song each spirit swells ; 
Music which angels only know 
We come to sing to you below. 
Then strike again the minstrel's lyre ! 
Then light again heaven's holy fire, 
And fill the earth with joy and glee ! — 
The love-lit songs of spirits free. 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 215 



THE STAR OF TRUTH. 

The star of truth shines o'er me, 

And my soul upbounds in love 
To the golden orbs that shine 

In heavenly worlds above. 
O, brighter far and clearer 

Than diamonds most rare 
Are those gems of light on high, 

Where thought is free from care. 

My soul is filled with melody, 

And thrills with blissful joy 
To breathe a joyful lay again 

Of " love without alloy." 
The spirits bright around me 

Are singing songs of love ; 
Then join again your mortal mind 

With angel choirs above. 

Then sigh no more for earthly gems, 

That glitter and decay, 
Nor mourn again for earthly wealth, 

That comes to pass away ; 
But lift your thoughts to brighter joys, 

That come from worlds on high, 
Where wisdom guides and love responds, 

In spheres beyond the sky. 

O, learn to love the beautiful, 

The holy joys of heaven ; 
Improve the words of wisdom pure 

Which angels bright have given ; 



216 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

O, strive to blend their good advice, 

In every walk of life, 
With nature's word divine, revealed, 

And banish fear and strife. 

My soul is filled with joyous glee, 

With happiness divine ; 
I would that all the minds of earth 

Were free from care as mine. 
I rove in heaven's resplendent light, 

Where beauties know no end, 
Where all the thoughts that fill the soul 

With kindred virtues blend. 

We speak, we sing, we ever breathe 

Our songs of joy to thee ; 
Proclaim the truth to all mankind, 

And make their spirits free 1 



TRUE LOVE. 

There is a rose in nature's garden 

Blooming wild and free, 
Where no cold wind can touch its leaves 

For love its petals be. 
No autumn frost, nor winter snow, 

Nor hoary-headed time, 
Can blast that flower ; for truth has made its bed 

In heaven's blest clime. 
Truth is its couch ; its tendrils twine 

On wisdom's holy tree, 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 217 

And heaven's genial dews fall gently 

O'er the flowery lea; 
While gentle winds are wafting 

Its fragrance on the air, 
Sweet songs of angel tongues arise 

Its beauty to declare. 
Though other roses round it bloom, 

And share its lovely bed, 
Still, this one flower above them all 

In grandeur rears its head. 
Around it flowers of varied hue 

In purest beauty blend, 
And share the pearly dew-drops pure 

As they soft descend. 
No poison weed, nor evil stalk, 

Can mar its mossy bed, 
Nor deadly serpent twine its folds 

And rear its flattened head 
Above the rose ; nor yet a thorn 

Can ever there be found 
With that fair rose that blooms on high, 

In heaven's holy ground. 
That flower is love ; for truth has made its bed 

In heaven's sunny land, 
And in the human soul bright angels wake 

Its music bland. 
'Tis nature's rose, implanted in the mind 

By God, the Source of all 
No earthly fetter e'er can bind, 

In error's thrall, 
This holy gem, which God has given 

To fill earth's sphere 



218 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

With higher hopes than earthly gems bequeath 

'Twill banish fear. 
Not carnal joys which man has christened love, - 

0, mockery those ! 
A poison yew tree might as well 

Be called a rose, — 
But holy love that strikes anew the harp 

Of heavenly hope, 
As to truth's ever glorious light 

The senses ope. 
That holy charm that fills all space 

Below, above, 
Which angels strive to wake in every soul, 

Is this — true love. 



We feel its magic wand 
In heaven's happy land ; 
We hear its music bland, 
Sung by an angel band 

From error free. 
Its glories know no end, 
Its beauties ever blend ; 
We're happy to descend, 
In harmony to lend 

Its charms to thee. 



The fount of light ! what glories swell 
And ripples sparkle as they glow ! 

A sweet tale of love they tell, 

Breathe truth and wisdom as they flow 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 219 

From world to world, from sphere to sphere, 

While every world in glory bright, 
Guided by beauty's gondolier, 

Crowned with a garland of love's light, 
Moves onward in its wonted course 

Untouched by error's fiery train. 
No earthly janglings, loud and hoarse, 

Can blot with their foul, sinful stain 
The starry orbs that, twinkling, move 

In heaven's vast ethereal blue ; 
Guided by wisdom high, they prove 

The beauties pure of love most true. 



All nature sings of thee, sweet love, 

And shall I cease 
Thy ever-shining beauties to unfold, 

And joy increase 
To earth's dark minds in error bound 

And sorrow dark ? 
Or shall I still with rapture light 

Truth's holy spark, 
Blend heaven's celestial notes 

With hope's gold fane, 
And to thy charms, sweet love, still pour 

My joyful strain ? 
I hear thy murmurings in my soul : 

They softly tell, 
" Let strains of love and music blended 

In rapture swell." 



220 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 



O fount of light, thy beauties roll, 

And penetrate the mystic scroll 

Of earth's dark errors ; 

All doubts and terrors 

Flee before thy glorious light. 

Blest love, in beauty bright 

Thou dwell' st, pride of the earth ; 

Sweet child of heavenly birth, 

Bright gem of heaven most rare, 

Nurtured by truth's celestial air, 

Thou art free, O love, in worlds on high, 

Free as the sunny orb in yon blue sky ; 

Not marred by error's dark perversion, 

Nor checked by vanity's assertion. 

O beauteous love, thy glories fill my soul ; 

What holy strains of music roll 

From thy celestial name ! 

Ever thou art the same, 

On earth below, in heaven above, 

A holy truth, a carrier dove ! 

Thou art the fount of light 

O love ; thy radiance bright 

Shall set man free. 
O love ! for thee I wander back to earth ; 
For thee I leave my sunny land 
Beyond the glorious birth, 
And chant thy music bland. 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 221 



HAPPINESS. 

Sweet bird of paradise, thy pinions bend, 

And to this earthly vale again descend ; 

Let thy blest plumage glitter bright 

O'er mundane scenes and worldly night ; 

And still inspire, with thy love notes, 

My spirit, as to earth it floats. 

And thou, blest muse of heaven, 

The gentle aid which thou hast given 

Still shower upon my head in sweet profusion, 

That earth's dark minds may know our mission. 

Descend, I pray thee, bird of heavenly birth ; 

Whisper sweet words of joy to minds of earth ; 

Tell them of thy genial clime, 

Where, lulled by Music's gentle chime, 

Angel spirits, bright and free, 

Sing their wild songs of love-lit glee. 

Where darkened minds in sorrow dwell, 

There tune thy voice, and let thy beauties tell 

Of heavenly joys and pure delight. 

But no ; thy home is heaven, sweet bird ! 

Still thou canst breathe a gentle word 

To cheer us in our work of love, 

And be our beacon-light above. 

Would that earth might know, and be, 

All that thou hast told to me. 

('Tis Happiness that I invoke 

To free mankind from error's yoke. 

She is the bird of paradise that dwells above, 

In the beauty of all-pervading love ; 



222 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Of her I sing ; unto her charms 

I tune the lay that now my spirit warms.) 

Thy home of love, where showers of holy light 

Deck thy pinions with their beauty bright. 

We are hastening onward to thy sunny shore, 

Where truth and gladness, free from earthly lore, 

Reign in triumphant loveliness ; 

No error gross can mar thy own bright holiness. 

For thou canst feast on lilies pure, — 

Thy glorious beauties ever shall endure, — 

And thou canst drink at Wisdom's flowing stream, 

Bright heaven's sunlight o'er thy pathway gleam. 

We know thy land is fair, sweet bird ; 

As we catch each holy, love-lit word, 

Each gem of heavenly beauty rare 

Breathes gentle echoes of thy home so fair. 

The will is thine, sweet bird, to blend 

Love's richest gems, 
In one harmonious whole, 

With diadems 
From thy delightful home, 

In joy divine, 
All souls to lead, in wisdom's light, 

To thy blest shrine. 
Dark minds will change to purity ; 

Thy magic wand 
Falls like a gentle dew of love ; 

Thy music bland 
Wafts gentle echoes to the sorrowing mind, 

In purest joy 
Ever cheering ; earthly tumults high 

Can not destroy 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 223 

Thy gentle charm, sweet bird of fairy-land ! 

Yet once again 
Inspire the love-muse in my soul, 

And breathe a strain 
Of thy rapt melody, and guide my soul to sing 

A song of home. 
Chant, in thy sweet accents, 

Nenda lone ! 



SONG. 

Give me my home in heaven above, 
Where bright angels warble 

Their sweet songs of love ; 

Where love, truth, and goodness 

In harmony blend, 

And hope's purest beauties 

In gladness descend. 

I wist not, I grieve not 

For the dark things of earth ; 
My spirit has passed 

The glorious birth ; 
All nature is breathing 

Her sweet songs of love 
To guide every spirit 

To pure joys above. 

Then give me the gems 

Of heaven's blest home, 
Where bright spirits happy 

So joyously roam — 



224 POEMS OF A, B. WHITING. 

And thou, lovely bird, 

Of heaven's blest clime, 
Descend to this earth 

In the fullness of time, 
That this world below, 

And the heavens above, 
May join in one song 

Of beauty and love. 

O Happiness, still breathe 

Thy notes of gladness, 
And earthly minds enwreathe 

With joy, their course to bless ! 
Bird of the summer land, 

Thy form bedecked with beauty rare, 
The bright-eyed angel band 

In heaven's celestial air 
Gazes with rapturous delight 

On thy refulgent beauty ; 
Thy golden pinions bright 

E'er guide to truth and duty ; 
For happiness divine, 

Our being's end and aim, 
Its gems of light are mine ; 

All may its charms attain ; 
Its beauty can alone be found 

In love's eternal charm 
Which wisdom high has bound 

To shield it from all harm. 
True happiness above doth dwell, 

In quietude and calm content, 
Where love's own music, magic spell, 

Its holy charm hath lent. 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 225 

Not in the gilded hall alone 

Is pleasure found, and purest joy, 
But in the cottage oft are blown 

Pure truths without alloy. 
Not in the gorgeous palace hall 
Where monarchs rule and kingly thrall 
Is law and truth ; where humble courtiers serve 
A tyrant, from whose will they dare not swerve ; 
Nor in the marble festive hall, 

Decked with costly gems, and robed in splendor all. 
Though earth's diadems may glitter bright 
By yon chandelier's brilliant light, 
And beauteous forms may move to music's measure, 
Or laughter's peal proclaim earth's pleasure, 
Discordant minds may mingle there, 
Minds bowed down with earthly care, 
Or some unholy passion's stain 
May lead the soul afar from truth's bright fane. 
The outward form may be beauteous and fair, 
The smiling face, the sparkling eye, and lustrous hair 
May tell a sweet tale of truth ; 
While, cased within the comely youth, 
Error and darkness have entwined 
Their folds, and seek to bind 
The little germ that God hath planted there 
T'unfold in beauty in heaven's home so fair. 
But when the soul by love's pure chain is bound, 
And wisdom dwells with beauty, to surround 
That germ which God hath given, — 
To dwell on earth and live in love in heaven, — 
Then truth and goodness wreathe a chain 
Of purity ; love's music breathes a gentle strain 
15 



226 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Of heavenly bliss ; ecstatic joy divine 

All hearts shall gladden as it quickeneth mine. 

True happiness alone is found 

Where heaven's beauties all combine. 

The soul in beauty must abound, 
And purest joys entwine. 

Then blow, gentle winds, from heaven's blest clime, 

And breathe pure notes of bliss ! 
Waft love-music's holy chime, 

And beauty's honeyed kiss ! 

Sing holy songs of heaven divine, 

And notes of purest joy, 
Where glee and gladness both entwine 

Pure love without alloy. 

Angel bands on high, in glory bright, 

Will bring pure thought to thee 
From their blest home of pure delight, 

Where every soul is free. 
And thou, sweet bird of heaven, 

I've tuned my muse to sing 
Thy charms, which God has given ; 

I pray thee, gentle bird, to bring 
Fresh garlands from thy happy home, 

And sing of wisdom evermore, 
Where loved ones gone in beauty roam, 

On heaven's happy shore. 

I'll tune my love-lit harp 
To thee again, sweet bird, 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 227 

And tune my minstrel lyre to sing 

The love-tones I have heard. 
Farewell, then, now ; and when 

In thy blest loveliness 
Thou com'st to dwell, O, then, 

Happiness, eternal and divine, 
All souls shall wreathe with beauty 

As it circle th mine. 



A LEGEND OF EARTH AND AIR, 

" O, let me not die in spring-time ! " 

I heard a maiden say ; 

" Earth looks too bright and winsome, 

Too beautiful and gay. 

The grass is gently peeping 

Above the damp, cold ground, 

And birds are sweetly singing 

In gladness all around. 

" O, let me not die in spring-time ! 

Spring life is so joyous and free ; 

I would list again to the whippoorwilTs song 

And the busy hum of the bee. 

I would see the lakelets melting 

'Neath the sunshine's genial ray, 

For long has winter held them 

Beneath his iron sway." 

" O, let me not die in spring-time ! " 

This feeble maiden said, 

As she laid her slender hand 

Upon her fevered head. 



228 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

" O, I would like to see again 
The little voilets bloom, 
Before I take my long, last sleep 
In the cold and darksome tomb." 

The spring-time passed away ; 

The gorgeous summer came ; 

Night's gentle dewdrops sweetly kissed 

The rose's crest, the lily's bud. 

All earthly beauties seemed to blend ; 

'Twas nature's nuptial season. 

Angels still watched by the bedside 

Of that feeble, timid maiden 

Who, unconscious of their presence, 

Dreamed that earth was all the love-life, 

All the joyous, happy free life, 

That a mortal could enjoy. 

She only knew what man had taught her 

Of the angel world above ; 

She supposed she could not see it 

Till the resurrection dawn. 

She could not hear the gentle music, — 

Music soft, and wafted sweetly 

From those homes of bliss on high, 

Where the loved, who'd gone before her, 

Dwelt in beauty, pure and bright, 

She knew not that the spirits sung 

Songs of love, and hope, and joy. 

It was a starry evening 

When she tuned her voice again ; 
Still feebler was its accent, 

Sad was the mournful strain : 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 229 

" O, I would not die in summer ! 

'Tis the blossom of the year ; 

I would twine a flowery garland 

For the friends I love so dear. 

See ! — the roses kiss each other 

As they bend beneath the dew , 

They look so free and happy, 

So beautiful and true. 

O, let me not die in summer ! 

For it is the happy season 

Of bird and flower and tree ; 

For the future looks dark and dismal ; 

It brings not life and health to me. 

If I could be a sieging bird, and live, 

I now would loudly sing for joy ; 

Sad as I feel, I'd banish sorrow's strife, 

Taste bliss without alloy. 

O, could I live, and be a rose 

In some romantic spot, 

I could most happy be 

In lonely dell or shady grot. 

Life, life, is all I ask ; 

I care for nothing more ; 

'Tis what no power but one can give, 

The power that gave before. 

But, if I must die in summer, 

At nature's bridal hour, 

O, bury me 'neath the roses 

In some sweet, lovely bower. 

O, let me not die in summer ! 

I love it better now than ever ; 

I fain would sing, but vain endeavor ; 

O, life, from thee so soon to sever, 



230 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

'Tis sad and dreary ; dark, sad thought 

To burst asunder every tie, 

Part from all I hold so dear, 

And lay me down to die. 

Oh, must it be ? 

Summer, sweet season, 

Must I part from thee ? 

The morning's brightness ; 

Noontide's sun, 

Bright joy and lightness, 

Must I go from thee forever ? 

Must I every love-tie sever? " 

Then she sadly closed her eyelids, 

Those bright eyes that oft had beamed 

With joy and pleasure, pure and free ; 

And her brow grew paler, colder ; 

In the sleep of death she lay. 

Her auburn hair in tangled masses 

Kissed her pale and sallow cheek, 

Clasped were her tiny hands, — 

Those lovely jeweled hands, 

That oft had plucked the blooming flower 

And twined the golden band 

Of summer roses — cold in death. 

Yes, she died in summer, 

While the birds were singing sweetly, 

While the sun was shining brightly, 

In nature's bridal season; 

She was buried 'neath the roses, 

In a bright and lovely bower, 

Where the tall green trees are waving — 

Sadly waving, — o'er her grave 

And the wild rose sweetly blossoms, 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 231 

Nature's love birds freely sing ; 
At the evening, sad and plaintive, 
Sings the night bird loud and long ; 
Birds of morning, birds of evening, 
Pour their thrilling lays of love, 
And the whippoorwill of spring-time 
Sits upon the marble stone 
In the calm and lovely twilight, 
Tunes his tribute to the maiden. 
She loved all of nature's beauties 
That the mortal eye could see' ; 
Beauties all combined within her ; 
She was love, and loved to all. 
Spring's radiant verdure bright 
And summer's loveliest flowers 
Were her companions in earth life, 
Were her playmates, were her jewels ; 
For affinity of soul was there - — 
Soul with flower and bird uniting 
In the sweetest, happiest ties. 
She sleeps, as mortals say, 
Beneath the ground, beneath the stone ; 
And pine trees gently waving, 
Softly waving, murmur back 
A brief, low, sad response. 

Months rolled away, and autumn 
Came with sere and yellow leaf, 
With its hoarse winds chilly blowing, 
With its sheaves of golden corn, 
Ripened fruit in bunches hanging 
From the low and drooping boughs ; 
And the forest trees were scattering 



232 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Fast their leaves upon the ground, 
And all beneath looked dark and drear. 
Came this maiden's sister, brother, 
To her grave at close of day. 
'Twas a silent moonlight evening, 
For the sun had gone to rest 
Behind the towering mountains, 
The lofty, snow-capped mountains. 
The cold, pale moon shone brightly, 
Gently twinkled many a star, 
And the brightest star of evening, 
Venus, holy queen of love, 
Shed her rays upon the youth, 
Youth, and happy joyous maiden 
That was standing by his side. 
Sister, said I ? brother's loved one , 
(*Tis all the same to me.) 
He was brother to the maiden, 
To that summer-loving maiden 
Who was buried 'neath the roses. 
They came with tearful eyes to view 
Again the spot where they saw placed, 
The form of her they loved so well. 
The youth knelt down upon the mound 
Beside the stone, and with emotion 
Deep, and quivering accents, said, 
" Here sleeps the loved one, sister dear : 
I weep for that bright eye and face, 
Radiant with joy and loveliness. 
I weep while ivy wild is creeping 
Over the stone, and stars above 
Their love-watch pure are keeping. 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 283 

Sister, thou hast left forever, 

Left me never to return, — 

Left me to the cold, dark world, — 

World of sorrow, care, and pain ; 

Thou hast loved me ; I have loved thee ; 

And I never can forget thee, sister dear • — 

Thy pure young mind, thy kindness." 

Then the maiden knelt beside him, — 

There in silence long they knelt, 

Till the cold wind pierced them, — 

Chilled them. The cold and dreary wind 

Mourned through the swaying branches 

Of the tall and gloomy pines : 

Then there came a dove and cooed 

Sadly, mournfully above them ; 

And the waving of the pine trees 

And the cooing of the dove 

Added sadness to their sorrow. 

They arose, enrapt in grief, 

Yet silently, to pass away 

From the sad spot where \&y the sleeper, — 

When they heard a sweet voice singing, — 

Gently, softly, sweetly singing, 

With a beauty far above 

All earthly music, mundane song : 

Struck with surprise they stood, 

Yet still the voice sang on. 

It was his sister's voice ; she sang 

A wild and thrilling lay ; 

The sweet, pathetic music fell in strains 

Melodious upon the listening air. 

Then her form in angel beauty 

Hovering o'er them they did see, — 

With a robe of snowy whiteness, 



234 POEMS OF A, B. WHITING. 

With a face of dazzling beauty ; 
Her bright eye was softly resting 
Upon those loved ones near and dear ; 
Her glossy auburn ringlets waved 
O'er her brow of spotless white, 
And the autumn cold and wild around 
Pierced not her heavenly robe ; 
She softly whispered, " Brother, sister, 
I am not dead ; I live above." 



SOXG. 

"From a land of fadeless beauty 

I have come, 
To tell of joy and purity 

In heaven's home. 
From the land where roses blossom 

Evermore, 
With love's blest charm within my bosom, 

Wisdom's store ; 
From a home where truth entwineth 

Sweetest flowers, 
And with gems of thought enshrineth 

Happy hours, — 
Where stars of truth are ever shining 

Bright above, 
And every beauty's interlining 

Songs of love ; 
Where song birds ever gayly sing, 

Blithe and free : 
All to them is nature's well-spring 

Full of glee. 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 235 

We dwell where all is pleasure 

Fond and fair ; 
Celestial beauties without measure, — 

Gems most rare, ■ — 
Fall upon each soul in heaven land 

Plenteously ; * 
There gems of thought adorn love's band 

Gloriously ; 
Music's silvery, joyous strain 

Sweetly sounds ; 
Afar, o'er hill and plain, 

It resounds. 
In the angel country thought is free, — ■ 

Free indeed ; 
Its golden beauty all can see, 

All can read ; 
There new fields of thought are spreading 

For the mind : 
O, 'tis ever good and cheering 

Truth to find. 
I love my happy spirit mansion — 

Home on high ^ 
'Tis not a flitting zephyr transient, 

In the sky, 
But a land where summer's love-flowers 

Ever bloom, 
In bright, unfading bowers, 

Beyond the tomb. 
Earth is not the only love-life, 

As I thought, 
But a land with every joy rife 

Can be sought, — 
Sought and found by every mortal, 



236 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Who will live 
As though he stood at heaven's portal, 

Saying, Give ! 
O, I love to come to earth-land, 

From my home 
Of light and beauty bland, 

Free to roam. 
So, when birds of spring-time warble 

I will come, 
And beside the silent marble 

Gently thrum 
The lute-strings of my soul, 

Breathe a strain 
Of joy, let music sweetly roll 

Yet once again. 
When the summer flowers are blowing, 

I will twine 
A wreath of fairest roses, showing 

Love divine. 
Yes, I still can whisper love songs 

Wild and gay ; 
Spirits pure, in heaven's love throngs, 

Softly say, 
6 Song is bright, and pure, and holy, 

In that clime 
Where all is love, and truth, and beauty, 

Music's chime.' " 

She ceased to sing ; and echo, 
Murmuring softly, sweetly, gently, — 
Breathing strains of love divine, — 
Wafted back the heavenly music 
To the loving, listening pair. 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 237 

And the pale moon, silvery shining, 

And the twinkling, glimmering stars, 

Looked mildly down on shadowy earth-land 

From the clear blue sky above. 

All nature seemed inspired with music ; 

The cold breeze, sighing in the pine trees, 

Seemed to wake an answering song, 

And the leaves of autumn falling, 

Moved with heavenly harmony. 

Then sweet echo, sweetly singing 

In love tones, gently seemed to say, — 

" O, ye pine trees, tune your branches, 

Treasure beauties in each bough ; 
O, ye rivers, murmur softly, 

Sing the songs of heaven now. 
Roll proudly on, thou silvery night orb, 

Light earth's children through the night; 
When the day-star sinks to rest, 

Shed thy pale and loving light. 
Ye stars, that ever brightly twinkle 

In the sky of azure blue, 
Teach earth's minds in love to mingle 

With the beautiful and true. 
Youth and maiden by the moonlight, 

Listening to that angel voice, 
Let your souls respond with trust, 

And your hearts in love rejoice." 

So ends my legend strange ; 
And if by its wild strain 
I touch a chord responsive 
In the human soul, I will again 



238 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Awake the love-notes of niy spirit, 

Tell a wild and thrilling tale 

To light earth minds with interest, 

Waft again thought gems to assail 

With truth's eternal shaft ; 

With arrows barbed strike pale error's heart, 

Descend from heaven's eternal spheres 

The angel's love words to impart. 



SHE WAS A ROSE. 

She was a rose ; the sunbeams kissed 

Her pure white brow ; 
The balmy breeze her ringlets tossed ; 

Her voice, I trow, 
Was sweet as JEolian melody, 

When angels bright 
Inspire the soul with joy, and sing 

Of love's delight. 

She was a rose ; the moonbeams played 

Around her form, 
And nature's dewdrops nourished her 

From night till morn. 
'Twas in the lovely summer time, 

When all was gay, 
That my loved Caradora, dear, 

First saw the day. 

Where the Adriatic's waters 
Roll along in glee, 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 239 

And lave the genial shores 

Of Italy, — 
(Italia, once my happy home 

Of joy and love, 
Where sleeps the form my spirit left, 

To dwell above), — 

There lived a beauteous maiden, 

Happy and free, 
Heaven glowing charms combined 

With mirth and glee. 
I loved her ; but the cold dark world 

Knew not the charms 
With which pure, holy love, eternal, 

The spirit warms. 

The grasp of iron-hearted priests 

Stole my fair one. 
I wept with heartfelt anguish when 

The deed was done. 
The convent wall loomed up between 

Me and the maid 
Who first had taught my soul to love. 

I sadly laid 
My hand upon my heaving bosom, 

Sought repose : 
I could not sleep ; my soul could only say, 

" She was a rose." 

Years rolled away : I saw the form I loved 

Laid in the ground. 
I saw the hireling priest stand sanctimoniously 

Above the mound, 



240 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Blaspheme the holy name of love, 

And dare to say, 
That God in wrath and vengeance dark 

Had ta'en away. 
I dared not speak, although my heart 

Was full of woes ; 
My soul in sorrow whispered soft, 

" She was a rose." 

'Tis past and gone ; death came 

To my relief ; 
I laid my earthly form aside, — 

My woe and grief. 
Death came — a messenger of love — 

To lead my soul 
To those blest lands of light on high, 

Where beauties roll, 
And heavenly truth sits, calm-browed, 

On the shore, 
Where all is joy and gladness 

Evermore. 

O, life of love in heaven ! 
My spirit swells 

With untold wishes to return to earth, 
And ever tell 

Of that bright home 

Where sorrow can not come, — 
Where all is bliss divine, — 
Where truth-stars ever shine, 
And wisdom e'er doth guide ; 
Where peace and hope abide. 



IVRITTEft IMPROVISATIONS. 241 

But, while heaven lives and moves, 

And living beauty proves 
That love's blest fount for ever flows, 
I'll ever sing in accents soft 

" She was a rose." 



HOPE. 



Sweet flower of heaven-land, gem divine, 
Hope ever doth fresh charms combine 
To lift our thoughts to worlds on high, 
To brighter lands beyond the sky. 
She ever speaks of brighter joys, 
And whispers, as with angel voice, 
Of happier homes, of fairer climes, 
Where love her golden charm entwines. 
She tells of wisdom high, and peace, 
Of heavenly joys that ne'er shall cease. 
Hope is the love-flower of the soul ; 
When heavenly spheres their charms unroll, 
She whispers, softly whispers, — " Mortal, see 
The gems that angels have prepared for thee ; 
And look beyond the present now 
To charms that future years shall place upon thy brow." 
In gloomy earth-land, when dark sorrows come, 
Hope says, " Weep not ; there is a happier home 
Where love shall twine a garland fair, 
And blend the glittering diamonds rare 
That these blest spheres above reveal, 
The soul to calm, the wounded heart to heal." 
16 



242 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Hope is a blooming rose within the soul, 

Striving its tiny petals to unfold, 

Seeking to catch the dewdrops pure that come 

From that celestial fount 'neath wisdom's dome. 

How oft, when trials harsh in darkness hover round, 

And future life looks dreary, Hope has found 

A gleam of sunlight, to inspire the mind 

With trust that future years may be more kind. 

When mortals o'er earth's sorrows linger, 

Hope points above her jeweled finger, 

To invoke sweet angels to descend, 

And heaven's holy love-words blend, 

To lead their minds to wisdom's mount, 

To bathe in beauty's holy fount. 

God placed this charm within the soul 

To tell of happiness ; to toll 

The death knell of all human sorrow, 

To sing, " There is a happier to-morrow 

For every soul, for all mankind ; 

A home where free shall be the mind." 

Awake, then, child of earth-land ! sing 

Of love and truth, and hope shall bring 

Pure truth, and tell of future joy, 

That error, dark, cannot destroy. 

Hope lives in every soul ; she can not die, 
Though nature all in ruins lie. 
She lives in truth's resplendent light; 
She moves on wisdom's lofty height ; 
She dwells in every flower of love 
On earth, or in the spheres above ; 
Her voice is heard 'bove earthly strife, 
Bright prophet of a happier life. 



WRITTEN IMPROVISATIONS. 243 

Nourished by every star that shines, 

Her orbit every planet interlines ; 

She sheds a gleam of heavenly light 

O'er earthly scenes, o'er error's night. 

When storms of anguish round the earth shall roll, 

And " heaven together moveth like a scroll," 

Hope in beauty bright shall twine 

A wreath of roses round the soul divine, 

And lead it calmly upward to that shore, 

Where wisdom reigns serene for evermore. 



FEAGMENTAEY POEMS. 



"THE GOOD OLD DAYS." 

CANTO I. 
YE DECLINE OF PERSECUTION. 

In the good old days a man arose, 

Some eighteen centuries since, 

Who made the Scribes and Pharisees wince 

By precepts, words and blows. 

That man, — now worshiped as a God 

By many a mind of earth, — 

Was scoffed and jeered at for his worth, 

And chastened by the rod; 

Despised by all the wise and great 

(In their own estimation), 

The pride of the Jewish nation, 

As history doth relate ; 

Tried and condemned to cruel death, 

Because he dared to teach, 

In the synagogue dared to preach, 

In spite of the Jew's vile breath. 

So they nailed him to the cross, 

244 



FRA GMBNTAR Y POEMS. 245 

Jesus, the good man and true, 

Because he brought to human view 

The truth, " to die was no loss." 

He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, 

And caused the deaf to hear ; 

His soul divested of all fear, 

He lived for all mankind. 

" Away with him," all Jewry cried, 

" He casteth out devils by Satan ! " 

Thus, with superstition's baton, 

They tortured him 'till he died. 

In that same age his apostles, too, 

Were followed by persecution, 

And bloody execution, 

The fate of good men and true. 

Years rolled away, and in his name 

(Jesus, the holy in truth and love, 

That messenger from worlds above) 

Tyrant's authority claim 

Under the sign of the blood red cross ; 

Like Constantine the Great, 

Clothed with pomp and regal state, 

All manner of crime to gloss. 

So the early fathers — a tyrant host — 

Were bound in duty to lie for the church, 

Or by theft leave people in the lurch, 

Or make them give up the ghost. 

So, in the lapse of ages past, 

In the good old days gone by, 

'Twas deemed a duty for church to lie, 

That the glory of God might last. 



246 POEMS OF. A. B. WHITING. 

Some there are at the present time 

Who are willing for church to he, 

Bnt the day for such has gone by, — 

We chant their praise in rhyme. 

O, blessed Hypocrisy ! thou art de§,d ! 

Or dying, which is the same ; 

Kings and pontiffs praise thy name ; 

For thee their tears are shed. 

Tyranny, thou art an angel bright 

That ruleth man for his good, 

Controling the servile brood 

By use of kingly might. 

" O, for parson-power," said Taylor, 

" Hypocrisy's praise to sing, 

Its heavenly anthems ring." 

(Priests call him a railer) ; 

But, like him, we sing for good old days 

When tyranny, rampant, ran wild, 

And watched, and lovingly smiled 

At autodafe's holy blaze. 

O Gold, thou art mighty to-day, 

But hast lost thy resolution, 

And power to give absolution^ 

Beneath the papal sway ! 

Sad is the thought that man is so low 

As to think he is progressing, 

That freedom is a blessing, 

When contrary we know. 

Alas ! mankind have lost respect 

For all imperial station, 

And by self-exaltation 

Both king and priest neglect. 



FRAGMENTARY POEMS. 247 

O, sinful Man ! when will ye learn 

That bondage is a blessing, 

Your every wrong redressing, 

And to your chief's return. 

Thrice holy is mental bondage, 

And every credal chain, 

To bind you again and again, 

Is a godsend in this age. 

O, sad it is for us to know 

The world is retrograding ; 

'Tis no use the truth evading 

For the church says it is so. 

Of what avail are turrets high, 

Lofty cathedral, domes and walls, 

If the creed no more inthralls 

Each soul a votary. 

What though some still bow the knee, 

And kiss the chains that bind them, 

Wherever they can find them, 

If many minds are free ? 

O, sad indeed is the story, — 

But truth we must always tell, — 

Belief is losing its spell, 

Its lovely wand so gory ; 

For the wiles of wicked, sinning man 

Have filled earth with confusion, 

And many a sad delusion ; 

For knowledge leads the van 

Of all mankind, advancing 

Their mission to fulfill, 

In spite of kingly will, 

Their happiness enhancing. 



248 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

The good old times have passed away, 
When kings and popes, with iron hand, 
Ruled the minds of every land, 
With naught their power to stay ; 
When Inquisition's rack and fire, 
Torturing rope and breaking wheel, 
And laws that made the people feel 
The strength of priestly ire. 
No more are absolutions sold 
To license every bloody crime, 
And make men happy for all time, 
By means of paltry gold.* 

CANTO II. 
YE TEEEIBLE STRIDES OF SCIENCE. 

In good old times the earth was flat ; 

Around it moved sun, moon, and star, 

And every planet near and far, 

By power of God's fiat. 

When Galileo, wise in nature's lore, 

Asserted the world turned round, 

In a dungeon dark a home he found, 

Where wise men had been before. 

The Inquisition was brought to bear 

Upon this man of science then ; 

Prelates, bishops, — all holy men, — 

Applied the torture there, 

To make him abjure the things he knew ; 

* See " De Coemenin's History of the Popes " for the tariff of prices 
for the absolution of all crimes, established by Pope John XXII. 



FRAGMENTARY POEMS. 249 

The telescopic power so grand, 
Bright worlds to read in starry land, 
Reveal them to men's view. 
At length, when brought before the pope, 
Arrayed in costly robes and power, 
Vicegerent of the earthly hour, 
Sat Urban, God's own will to quote. 
" Look through my telescope, O, man, 
Sitting in solemn judgment here," 
Said the wise man, loud and clear, 
" And bring it to your ken." 
" What care I though it is provable ; 
Am I not Pontiff, infallible, great? " 
Said Urban, in his regal state, — 

" I SAY EARTH IS IMMOVABLE." 

But the world moved on and moveth still, 
As Galileo said it would do ; 
The truth is now received as true, 
Despite Pope Urban' s will. 

In former times 'twas thought by all 

That in six days God made the world ; 

Creation's banner then unfurled 

O'er all things, great and small; 

But earth's own rocky records show 

That there's a slight mistake, 

And God could not his own law break, — 

All must have time to grow. 

In good old times it was a sin 

For Science to assert her claim 

In any guise, by any name, 

Or in any form begin ; 

For many there were in days gone by, — 



250 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

And some in the present age I ween, 
As their works are often plainly seen, 
Hold the same thought on the sly, — 
That carnal reason must he down 
Before the shrine of faith, belief, 
And never dare to give relief 
When popes and prelates frown. 
'• Learning is useless," said Pope Paul, 
" And science opposed to religion." 
" Sacred is each church tradition, — 
Then let it conquer all." 

Holy wars were rife in the good old days 
When the many were slaves to the few, 
And men their fellow-mortals slew, 
All for their Maker's praise. 
The Saracen fought the Christian brave, 
And the Christian slew the Turk ; 
Blood and carnage thus set to work. 
Made many a martyr's grave. 
Then the lance and the shining blade 
Settled the strife and disputes of man ; 
Dread warfare was the only plan 
By which laws were broke or made. 
One thing is certain the wide world o'er, 
If ever a truth was spoken, 
Or ever a human skull broken, 
Holy wars are a curse and bore. 

Geology has proved to man 
That earth is very aged, 
And we are all enraged, 
At its stupendous plan. 



FRAGMENTARY POEMS . 251 

The Bible record is o'erthrown, 

If this new science is correct ; 

'Twill all mythologies affect, 

Man has so knowing grown. 

If years on millions earth has stood, 

Of what avail the Genesis account 

Of ark on Ararat's tall mount, 

In safety from the flood ? 

The earth was all in six days made 

Says Scripture (that is very plain). 

'Tis true or false, we here maintain, 

In language plain arrayed. 

Science^ thou name for infidelity ! 

Geology, Astronomy, 

And all such like economy, 

Is blackest heresy. 

O, 'tis lamentable to see 

How these errors are gaining ground ; 

In every school-house they are found, 

Taught openly and free. 

'Tis strange that even pious souls 

Fail to see the errors dark, 

Shown by the electric spark 

That Science's chart unrolls ; 

But such is their consistency, 

That earth may he both round and flat, 

Made in six days by God's fiat, 

Millions in reality. 

" Six days doth mean long ages vast, 

The way we mortals measure time ; 

Thus Science doth with Bible chime, 

The present with the past." 

O, depth of folly, hight of crime ! 



252 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Thus to distrust the scriptures old, 

Written by God's own finger bold, 

For every age and clime. 

The world is going to ruin, sure, 

For science opposes religion ; 

In every land and region 

Its teachings firm endure. 

For years and years the world believed 

All people came from one first pair ; 

Such is the Bible record fair, 

That ought to be received. 

But some now doubt this simple truth, — 

It as a falsehood dare to brand, 

Saying, that " every age and land 

Produces man and youth ; 

And beast and bird, and creeping thing, 

All come forth by nature's laws ; 

By power of one Eternal Cause 

Each flower and tree doth spring ; 

The white man and the Indian red, 

The black man and the yellow, — 

And every other fellow, — 

Each in his place is bred; 

Instead of the races being one, 

Of every stripe and nation, 

Throughout the wide creation, 

Beneath the shining sun, 

They are as diverse as the birds 

Or quadrupeds that walk the earth, 

And every climate gives them birth 

By law, not spoken words." 

44 Don't scripture say all are one blood ? 



FRA GMENTAR T POEMS. 253 

Then stop these ethnologies, 

And other idle heresies ! 

The Bible long hath stood. 

Should ye not believe its words and maxims, 

That plainly are expressed, 

By the Holy Spirit blessed, — 

Its God-appointed axioms ? 

If it tell you black is white, 

Believe it or be damned ; 

Consent thus to be crammed, 

Or go to eternal night." 



YE MILL, AND YE WHEELS. 

My lay is a lay of a mill ; 
A mill whose grim old wheels went round, 
And i^ound, with a terrible din, — 
Din that was never a moment still ; 
Still gloomy and dull was the sound, 
Sound that took the good people in. 
This dull old mill was built of stone, 
Stone and mortar and brick, — 
Brick, and wood, and fresco work, — 
Work that was well and strongly done, 
Done in a manner stout and thick, — 
Thick with craft, and skill did lurk, — 
Lurk around the old building there. 
There were charms of life without, 
Without were trees and blooming flowers ; 
Flowers that grew by walks so bare, — 
(Bare save when the millers were out — 



254 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Out in the evening's silent hours.) 

This mill had many a wheel, — - 

Wheel of peculiar make, 

Makes noises more wonderful still. 

Still every cog seems to feel, — 

Feel only for its owner's sake. 

Sakes alive ! how it does his will. 

These wheels are mysterious, too, 

To many a listener's mind ; 

Mind, each tells a tale of its own, 

Own language. It speaketh to you ; 

You may curiosities find, — 

Find what each wheel has seen. 

These wheels are of divers sizes, — 

Sizes both large and very small ; 

Small ones feel large as the largest, 

Largest as large as the prizes, — 

Prizes that, given to all, 

All try to obtain the choicest. 

This mill had a lofty dome, — 

Dome that was roofed with slate, — 

Slate without and wood within ; 

Within, the mill was fair to some ; 

Some loved its massive dome so great, — 

Great dome to take the people in ; 

Some loved its big wheels' solemn song, — 

Song in French, Italian, and Greek, 

Greek and Latin, Spanish and Dutch, 

Dutch and Hebrew, loud and long. 

Long each wheel could sing or speak ; 

Speak, for each wheel could chatter much ; 

For know they all had tongues, — 

Tongues, and hands, and feet ; 



FRAGMENTARY POEMS. 255 

Feats of mind in their estimation, — 
Estimation, a song they always sung ; 
Sung of themselves: each day did repeat — 
Repeat their selfish exultation. 
Thus for a hundred years or so, 
So had the dull old wheels moved on ; 
Moved on, except, when one wore out, 
Out it was thrust, and another to go, — 
Go in its place, — was seized upon, — 
Upon the grist its work to bestow. 
Many a miller had grown gray — 
Gray in the battle of life, while young, 
Young were the apprentices shy, 
Shy or bold, morose or gay. 
Gay never, were the wheels so glum, — 
Glum for ever, forever and aye. 



FROM HOPE TO KNOWLEDGE. 

Hope is the guiding star, 

Onward, upward ever 

On earth or in the worlds afar, 

She will leave thee never. 

In thy highest aspiration, 

Every thought shall feel its power ; 

Reaching in its exaltation, 

Each pure drop of wisdom's shower ; 

'Till thy soul shall feel and see, 

That, from hope to knowledge free, 

A fair path is shown to thee. 



256 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING, 



ALBUM LINES. 

I'd rather be a written page, 
To cast a sunbeam on life's stage, 
Than be a monarch on his throne, 
Who ruled by power and fear alone. 
I'd rather be a love thought free, 
Than rule the land or rule the sea 
By man applauded. 

May truth alone shine on each leaf, 
Free from sorrow, doubt, and grief ; 
May wisdom guide each hand to write, 
May love all hearts in joy unite, 
To trace within this volume fair, 
Words of truth in garlands rare 
Of friendship's roses. 



'Tis but a thought I give to thee ; 

One gem from friendship's holy shrine, — 

A thought that tells of beauty free 

Dwelling in worlds of joy divine. 

Each glowing thought that plays around thee 

Lifts thy soul to regions bright ; 

It will ever help to lead thee 

Along the way to truth's blest hight. 



FRAGMENTARY POEMS. 257 



THE FEAST OF BELSHAZZAR. 



FRAGMENT OF A POEM IMPROVISED AT THE MELODEON, BOSTON, 
DECEMBER 6, 1857. 

[These lines were printed at the time in the " Banner of Light," 
which said concerning them, " They were furnished us by a gentle- 
man who was appointed on the committee to select the subject for a 
poem, and who suggested that on which it was given. They were 
written from memory by the gentleman who was an utter skeptic ; and 
as he is somewhat noted for his retentive memory, we have no doubt 
that they are correct."] 



The pompous King at his table sat, 
With nobles and courtiers around ; 
He quaffed the rich wine, and with impious hand, 
He swore that his kingdom for ever should stand. 
The song went round, the unseemly jest, 
The scoffing words, and blasphemous breath ; 
The haughty king, with his brazen arms, 
Ruled o'er the fair city of palms. 
But, lo ! upon yon distant wall 
Appeared the spirit hand. 
The trembling King, with guilty fear, 
Looked o'er the affrighted band. 
But, see ! the hand in words of light 
Glanced glittering o'er their eyes; 
Dread silence, horror, awful fright, 
As moving on it flies. 
17 



258 POEMS OF A, B. WHITING. 

Mene, Mene was writ on the wall, 
And Tekel, Upharsin, appeared to them all. 
They sent for the Prophet, the King looked around, 
" Thou'rt weighed in the balance, and wanting art 
found." 



[The entire poem comprised about one hundred lines.] 



UNPUBLISHED SONGS. 



THE BANNER OF PEACE. 

Wab, with its dark and bloody hand, 
For three long years has ruled the land, 
And the fourth is on the wane, 
Marching in the bloody train. 
And our country, once so glorious, 
Over every foe victorious, 
Now lies bleeding, torn and broken, 
By the sword's unhallowed token. 

Then raise the snow-white banner, 
The beautiful flag of peace ; 
And in the name of human rights, 
Declare that wars shall cease. 

Millions of men came forth at call, 
Bravely resolved to rule or fall 
'Mid the war-king's fiery train, 
Dazzled by his lurid chain. 
" Union and Freedom " was the cry, — 
" We will conquer now or die ! " 

259 



260 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Thus full many a brave one fell, 
Without shrive, or shroud, or bell. 

Then raise the snow-white banner, &c. 

Now the gauzy veil is lifted, 
Now the ship of state has drifted 
On the rock of " lust of power," 
While the clouds of terror lower ; 
Now the war-king, red with gore, 
Calls "five hundred thousand more ! " 
While the orphan's feeble wail 
Echoes in each passing gale. 

Then raise the snow-white banner, &c. 

Up, then ! Arise, ye freemen brave, 
And in your might your country save ; 
Hurl the usurper from his throne ; 
Cease orphan's sigh and widow's moan. 
Conciliation's mystic charm 
Must be the nation's healing balm ; 
" Union and Peace " our motto be ; 
" Freedom from all tyranny." 

Then raise the snow-white banner, 
The beautiful flag of peace ; 
And in the name of human rights, 
Declare that wars shall cease. 



UNPUBLISHED SONGS. 261 



STRIKE BOLDLY, AND FEAR NOT. 

Strike boldly, and fear not ; 
Angels round thee hover ; 
Through the lone path of life 
Their footprints we discover. 
They ever watch and guide, 
Fondly they caress us, 
Still gently by our side 
Striving aye to bless us. 

What care I for power. 
Earthly wealth or grandeur, 
Creatures of an hour, 
Ambition and splendor. 
Only let good spirits bright 
Smiling o'er my pathway, 
Shining in spotless white, 
Near me for ever stay. 

Roll on, dark wave of life ; 

Unheeded commotion ; 

On with your dashing strife, 

Fate-troubled ocean ! 

For with the angels true, 

Backward turning never, 

New thoughts e'er come to view, 

Beauteous forever. 

Strike boldly, child of earth ! 
For wisdom surrounds thee ; 



262 POEMS OF A, B. WHITING. 

With its fair gems of worth 
In love-ties hath bound thee ; 
The gloom of error dark 
Is gone from before thee, 
Touched by the hallowed spark 
Of angel truth o'er thee. 



COME, BRIGHT MENONA. 

Come when the morning sun is shining, 
Come when the rays of light combining, 

Blend their glories rare ; 
Come when the lark is gayly singing, 
Come when the bells of morn are ringing, 

With their cadence pure. 

Come with thy sweet and gentle voice, 
It doth make my soul rejoice 
In its melody. 

Come when the silvery moon is gleaming 
With the stars of night that, beaming, 

Breathe hope's rhapsody ; 
Come when the evening lamps are lighted, 
And our hearts in love united 

Beat in harmony. 

Come with thy sweet and gentle voice 
It doth make my soul rejoice 
In its melody. 



UNPUBLISHED SONGS. 263 

O come, Menona, gem of duty, 
Come in thy splendor, peerless beauty, 

With thy notes of loye 5 
Join with the word my soul is speaking ; 
Bow to the fate thy heart is seeking ; 

Onward let us rove. 

Come with thy sweet and gentle voice, 
It doth make my soul rejoice 
In its melody. 



WELCOME TO PEACE. 

WRITTEN AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

The clouds of war have passed away. 

The angel of peace appears ! 
All hail, the dawning of the day ; 

Fill the air with gladsome cheers ; 
Black were the clouds and streaked with fire, 

As they rolled athwart the sky, 
While bloody waves of anguish dire 

Flowed drearily, sadly by. 

Homes of the North and the South land 
Have felt the war-king's power ; 

Tearful eyes have seen the death wand, 
The bullet's fatal shower. 

We've heard the wail of loved ones, 
Borne on the midnight air ; 



264 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

The dying, wounded, and lost ones, 
Far from home and friendly care. 

Now the deadly strife is ended 

Let the past forgotten be, 
And our country, reconstructed, 

As of yore, united, free. 
By the memory of each martyr, 

Let us skill and mercy show ; 
Let us serve our Magna Charta 

Scorn to strike a fallen foe. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 



I. Vtaee Heart CMfieirlBiis. 

LENA DE L'ORME. 

Yes, thou art gone in the pride of thy youth, 

The fairest of all the valley ; 
Gone in the light of thy beauty and truth, 

Gone where the night winds rally. 

Yes, thou art gone, 
Pride of my heart, 
Beautiful Lena de L'Orme ; 
For thee teardrops freely start, 
For thou to the angels art gone. 

The ivy grows dark o'er the grassy mound, 

The brook goes murmuring by, 
The night bird shrieks with its dreariest sound 

O'er the spot where thy form doth lie. 

The star of thy life went down in its youth, 
And thy throbbing heart lieth still, 

But thy spirit liveth in love and truth 
Beyond death's murmuring rill. 

265 



266 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING, 

Hark ! there comes a voice from out of the skies ; 

'Tis the voice of my angel love ; 
It tells of a spirit hovering nigh, 

Revealing its joy from above. 

The love of the soul ends not with death, 

But liveth forever on high ; 
Thus Lena speaks in the zephyr's breath, 

In the night wind's sweetest sigh. 



BY THE SIDE OF THE MURMURING STREAM. 

O, THE happy, happy days of my childhood, 
By the side of the murmuring stream, 

Where I culled the sweet flowers of the wildwood, 
By the light of the first morning beam. 

But those pleasures are fled forever 
In the passing of life's fitful gleam, 

And I'll gaze on those beauties never, 
By the side of the murmuring stream. 

The little white cottage, near the haunted rock, 

That covered my forefathers too ; 
And the willow rent by the lightning's shock, 

By the side of the waters so blue. 

I remember the place in the old churchyard 
Where I wandered in days of yore, 

There sleeps my love in the earth hard, 
Yet in fancy I see her once more. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 267 

O, the many, many joys of my youth's days 

Have fled like a weird fairy dream ; 
But I'll treasure them still in my heart lays, 

While I sing of the murmuring stream. 



TOUCH THE LUTE GENTLY. 

O, touch the lute gently, love, 
Gently, love, gayly, 
And wreathe a sweet garland of song ; 
Dulcet notes e'er they prove. 
Truly Atheli, 
Thy spirit to mine doth belong. 

Then touch the lute gently, love, gently, 
And wreathe a sweet garland of song, 

O, touch the lute gently, love, gently, 
And wreathe a sweet garland of song. 

Roaming now in other lands, 
Sadly and lonely, 
Longing for joys that are fled ; 
Sighing now for golden bands, 
Bound to thee only, 
Weeping for hopes that are dead. 

O, sing again those songs of yore, 

Ever soul-thrilling, 
They come to my sad, lonely mind ; 
Heavenly tones o'er and o'er, 

Murmuring and trilling, 
They lead me life's treasure to find. 



268 POEMS OF A, B. WHITING. 

Far o'er the sad and lonely wave, 
Echo shall reach me, 
With its sweet murmuring voice ; 
Joys of life thy presence gave, 
Purely will teach me, 
And bid my sad soul rejoice. 

O, touch the lute, and o'er the sea, 
In sweet communion, 
In song then united we'll dwell ; 
Heart with heart then shall be 
In blessed union : 
Then we'll know all is well. 



ADIEU, LEANORE! 

Adieu, adieu, Leanore ! 

Forever fare thee well ; 
Weep not, for I adore 

The charms that with thee dwell. 
When I am passed away 

To that immortal shore, 
My light song still will stay, 

And whisper, I adore. 

Adieu, adieu, Leanore ; 

Forever fare thee well, 
Till on the immortal shore, 

We shall together dwell, 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 269 

Adieu, adieu, Leanore ! 

'Tis broke, the golden spell ; 
Earthborne am I no more, — 

To th.ee a sad farewell. 
"When roses round thee bloom, 

And lilies o'er thee twine, 
From lands beyond the tomb 

My love shall purely shine. 



LEOLINE. 

Leoline, though thou art far from me, 
Yet my spirit e'er doth turn to thee ; 
In my memory oft thy smile 
Will the weary hours beguile ; 
I am sad and lonely waiting 
For thy presence, soul-elating, 
Longing still to see my fairy, 
Blithesome one, so light and airy. 

Leoline, Leoline, Leoline, 
Though thou art far away, 
Still I hear thee say, 
I am thine for aye. 

Leoline, the dew is on the lea, 
The moon shines on the heaving sea, 
The rolling waves are dancing light, 
To echo back my song to-night ; 
Then waft me from thy lovely clime, 
Some silvery tone, some music chime, 
To help me wait the distant hour, 
When I may claim my wild wood flower. 



270 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 



"YOU WELL KNOW MY BELOVED." 

Good night, good night, my well-beloved, 

May bright angels guard you in your dreams ; 
You well know, you well know, my beloved, 
That my love for you for ever fondly gleams. 
You well know, you well know, 
My beloved, you well know 
That my heart beats ever fond and true, 
Ever beaming, ever gleaming is my lovelight, 
As beams the star from out yon sky's fair blue. 

Good night, good night, may angels keep you, 
From every trial dark of earthly life ; 

In the future, peerless beauty, may I meet you, 
Free from all sorrow, care, and warring strife. 



LAND OF THE SO-CALLED DEAD. 

Sweet land of the spirit, I'm pining for thee, 
O, beautiful land, where the bright spirits be, 
Where the dearly loved have fled, — 
That beauteous land, 
That glorious land, 
The land of the so-called dead. 

In my dreams thou art near, 
In my dreams thou art near. 

The loved of past years gladly greet me there, 
Beyond error's gloom and all sorrowing care ; 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 271 

To their love-encircled shore. 

To that magical land, 

That mystical land, 
The home of the gone before. 

In my dreams ever near, 

In my dreams ever near. 

And the boatman pale o'er the river of death, 
In a sweet interlude of murmuring breath, 
Will come with his light canoe 
To bear me to rest. 
In that mansion blest, 
Where dwell the holy and true. 
In my dreams ever near, 
In my dreams ever near. 

Yes, I know I shall see thee in time, sweet land, 
And join with the seraph throng, hand in hand, 
When the journey on earth is o'er ; 
For the radiant beams 
Of the light that gleams, 
Shine bright from the further shore. 
Yes, in life ever near ; 
Yes, in life ever near. 



MAID OF GLENORE. 

Maid of Glenore, awake from thy dreaming, 

List to my soft-sounding lay ; 
While bright stars above are brilliantly beaming 

Hearken to what I would say. 



272 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

The south wind softly is blowing, 
The air with fragrance is glowing. 
Come forth in thy light, 
Sweet beam of the night, . 
While flowers thy pathway are strewing. 
Maid of Glenore, 
Maid of Glenore, 
Beautiful art thou, Maid of Glenore ! 

Maid of Glenore, the stars will grow dim 

In sight of thy flashing eye ; 
I implore thee heed the love-song of him 
Who breathes every word with a sigh ; 
The night-bird ceases its singing 
To list to thy laugh's sweet ringing ; 
Come forth in thy light. 
Sweet beam of the night, 
While moonbeams their pure light are flinging. 
Maid of Glenore, 
Maid of Glenore, 
Beautiful art thou, Maid of Glenore. 

Maid of Glenore, a love-chord is twining 

Around thy spirit and mine ; 
Stars from above in beauty are shining 
O'er kindred souls, mine and thine ; 
Fond looks are cast on the comely, 
Blest, holy beam that art lonely, 
One day robed in white, 
Sweet star of delight, 
There thou wilt shine on me only. 
Maid of Glenore, 
Maid of Glenore, 
Beautiful art thou, Maid of Glenore. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 273 

fe@Bg) in. Sl@w@ffs &r@sa Ih® W©st. 

O, HEAR MY PARTING SIGH. 

O, HEAB, my parting sigh ; 

O, heed my parting prayer ; 
Death's angel hovers nigh ; 

Soon I'll be free from care. 
Death cometh with relief, 

To lift the soul above, 
To free the mind from grief, — 

A messenger of love. 

O, hear my parting sigh, 

And watch my failing sight 
'Tis nothing now to die, 

The pathway all is light. 
Death comes an angel dark 

Only to those who mourn ; 
Still lives the immortal spark, 

By angels upward borne. 

O, hear my parting sigh, 

O, see that holy throng, 
That comes from worlds on high, 

To join my parting song. 
Death, with his finger fair, 

Doth point to mansions blest ; 
Vanquished is lone despair, 

That gave the mind unrest. 
18 



274 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 



MEDORA. 

Medoea sleeps 'neath the cold, cold stone 
And the wind harp is breathing 

Its sad, sad moan. 
The ivy is creeping o'er her tomb, 
And the pine trees wave darkly, 

In chilling gloom. 

They parted her golden ringlets light, 
O'er her marble-like forehead, 

So cold and white ; 
They laid her to rest at olose of day, 
In the lone murmuring shades, 

Where night- winds piay. 

She's gone afar from dull sorrow's care, 
From the false hearts that led her 

With fitful glare. 
No phantoms pale of poverty's home 
To her moss-covered mansion 

Ever can come. 

Medora lives, a bright angel now, 
And heaven's purest laurels 

Deck her fair brow ; 
Gladly she sings, with a holy band, 
Happy songs of rejoicing, 

In spirit land. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 275 



O, TELL ME NOT OF FIELDS OF GLORY. 

O, tell me not of fields of glory, 

Where foemen meet, and fight, and fall. 

Alas ! the splendor of the story- 
Is draped with deep funereal pall ; 

For vivid then arise before us 
The horrors of the battle plain, 

And victory's loud, exulting chorus 
Sinks burdened by the shrieks of pain. 

They say that fame, with trump immortal, 

Of those who bravely fought shall tell ; 
Within her temple's loftiest portal 

Shall twine the wreath for those who fell. 
But O, a manly form reposes 

Full lowly on the bloody plain, 
And death's dark evening shadow closes 

O'er eyes that ne'er shall wake again. 

Then tell me not that glory liveth ; 

It ne'er restores the fallen brave ; 
Nor is there aught that glory giveth, 

Can light the darkness of the grave. 
For what can fame avail the lonely, 

Who weep above a loved one slain ? 
It maddens grief to anguish only ; 

The sad heart knows 'tis all in vain. 

But there are angels gently hovering 

Around us, in the hour of need ; 
Their mission to console the suffering, 

To heal the hearts that inly bleed. 



276 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

They tell us, too, of fields of glory, 
Beyond the realms of death's domain ; 

Nor woe, nor warfare dim the story ; 
There joy and peace forever reign. 



THE WIND IS IN THE CHESTNUT BOUGH, 

The wind is in the chestnut bough, 

The wind is in the pine ; 
Come nearer, nearer to me now, 

Dear spirit friend of mine ; 
Come nearer, nearer to me now, 

Dear spirit friend of mine. 
Howl on, ye surging blasts, howl on ! 

Nor heed the prayers of mortal men, 
If thou, bright spirit, will but breathe 

Thy thoughts to mortal ken. 

The wind goes moaning o'er the deep, 

And whistles in each sail, 
It lulls the mariner to sleep, 

Or wakes him to the gale ; 

The wind is restless in his wrath ; 

He rushes o'er the plain ; 
And on the gloomy desert path 

His echo moans again. 

Roll on, ye wrathful, restless blast, 

Nor heed earth's fleeting joy ; 
The day on earth will soon be past ; 

'Tis but a passing toy. 



PUBLISHED SONGS, 277 



PRIDE OF ELSINORE. 

Sweet pride of Elsinore, for thee 

Love's purest incense e'er shall rise, 
For thou art all the world to me, 

Blithe maiden that I prize. 
Another face may be more fair, 

Another form more light, 
But thou dost blend the virtues rare, — 

More precious in my sight. 

Fair maid of Elsinore, O be 

My own bright shining star to guide, 
For with my song's pure melody 

I'd woo thee for my bride. 
Another eye, with flashing gleam, 

May thrill the changing heart, 
But love that from the soul doth beam, 

Can play a nobler part. 

Lone pride of Elsinore, so fair, 

A mind like mine you ne'er may view, 
Then listen while I here declare 

My vows of friendship true. 
Another mind may only love 

With earth's wild flickering glare ; 
But angel pens record above 

My promised watchful care. 



278 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 



WHENE'ER IN SLEEP THE EYELIDS CLOSE. 

Whene'er in sleep the eyelids close, 

Kind angels aye their vigils keep, 
The weary heart can find repose, 

And joy return to those who weep. 
Fell disappointment's arrow-dart 

The quiet dreamer glances by ; 
The form at rest, the saddened heart 

Knows not the anguish often nigh. 

Whene'er in sleep the eyelids close 
The weary heart can find repose ; 

When still in death the eyes shall close, 
The weary heart will find repose. 

Some fairy dream may cheer the soul, 

Made sad and careworn all the day ; 
Some vision bright may purely roll, 

To light the darkness of the way. 
Sleep, fair one, sleep, while fancies glide ; 

Dreams that while waking ne'er may be ; 
Fond hopes and pure thy visions guide ; 

Waking thou'rt sad, asleep made free. 

When still in death the eyes shall close, 
And sorrowing friends so lonely weep, 

Some weary heart has found repose, 
While pitying angels love-watch keep. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 279 

There is a life that knows no end, 

Not all a dream, a fancy wild, — 
There, too, are joys that sweetly blend, 

And thrill the soul with accents mild. 

When still in death the eyelids close, 
The weary heart can find repose ; 

When still in death the eyes shall close, 
The weary heart will find repose. 



SWEET BE THY DREAMS, ALIDA. 

Sweet be thy dreams, Alida : 

Soft memories o'er thee glide : 
May happy thoughts for ever 

Gayly shine thy steps to guide. 
When love-lit eyes are beaming, 

In fanciful vision free, 
May hearts with more than seeming, 

Most truly confide in thee ; 
May hearts with more than seeming 

Most truly confide in thee. 

Sweet be thy dreams 

Sweet be thy dreams, 
And gentle memories o'er thee glide, 

Sweet be thy dreams 

Sweet be thy dreams 
And gentle memories o'er thee glide. 

When thou shalt wake, Alida, 
To find that the dream has fled, 

May sorrow's thorn crown never 
Rest heavily on thy head. 



280 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

May all thy days be happy, 

As the dreams of night foretell ; 

Then more than joy can rally 
To the sound of memory's bell. 

Then more than joy can rally 
To the sound of memory's bell. 



fe@^g) ¥« 

SPIRIT OF LIGHT, LOVE, AND BEAUTY. 

Spirit of light, love, and beauty, 
Bind for me thy golden band, 

Teach my heart to know its duty, 
Guide me to your glorious land. 

Spirit of light, love, and beauty, 
I implore thee, smile on me. 

Spirit of bright joy and gladness, 
Twine for all thy silvery lay ; 

Banish error, fear, and sadness ; 
Lead us to the wisdom way. 

Soul of song, we hail thee gladly, 

Coming with thy holy calm ; 
Healing every mind that sadly 

Wanders from thy blessed charm. 

Spirit of light, love, and beauty, 

Chant for all thy lovely song, 
Lead us aye in paths of duty, 

Till we join the angel throng. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 281 



AMINTA MIA. 

Although we never met before, 

Light in thy pathway shone ; 
In beauty wrapt thee o'er and o'er, 
In beauty wrapt thee o'er and o'er. 
Calm was the soul that gleamed from 'neath 

Each eyebrow's penciled throne, 
Soft smiles thy face in gladness wreathe, 

Aminta, mia or a belle. 

Aminta, mia ora belle. 

Thine be the holy mission pure, 

Enveloped in life's care, 
With those to dwell whose loves endure, 
With those to dwell whose loves endure. 
And while on earth thy love shall glow, 

Radiant, bright and rare, 
Trust, angels watch thy path below, 

Aminta, mia ora belle. 

Aminta, mia ora belle. 



LELA TREFAINE. 

Lela Trefaine, the month of October is near, 
The mocking birds sing in the palm tree, 
The grosbeck's shrill whistle you hear 
Echo sweetly and clear. 



282 POEMS OF A B WHITING. 

Friendship of yore, thy harmonies never can cease, 
Bringing back happy joys to me, 
Bright joys that life's treasures increase, 
Joy of freedom and peace. 

Come once again, happy days, 
Blessed days of fortune and peace , 
Come once again, blessed days, 
Life treasures that ever increase. 

Lela Trefaine, the river rolls sluggishly by, 
The cypress and willow bend low ; 
O'er graves of the parted they sigh ; 

" They fought but to die." 
Answer me back, ye night birds, that warble so 

free ; 
Tell again of the days long ago, 
And friends that were cherished by me, 

Ere I crossed the blue sea. 

Lela Trefaine, in the land of strangers I roam, 
Far from my own native south-land 
From thee and my dearly loved home ; 

Yet in fancy I come. 
Never forgot ; for, treasured in memory's shrine, 
As touched by affection's love-wand, 
Blessed remembrance ever will twine ; 

Early friends, love divine. 

Lela Trefaine, the mignonettes bloom as of old, 
When we gathered them side by side ; 
The night-jasmine petals unfold : 
Dewy petals of gold. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 283 

Joy to the soul ! in spirit I cross the dark sea ; 
Once more o'er the waters I glide : 
There's hope in the future for me ; — 
Home, freedom, and thee. 



EVYRR ALLYNN; OR, THE OUTCAST. 

The cold snow is falling, the bleak hills are dreary, 

Wild is the way, and the daylight is past, 
Night shades fast falling, dark, lonely and cheerless, 

O, when will my weary limbs find rest at last ? 
I will sleep on the hillside, among the white snowdrifts, 

Nor cover my face from the rain and the sleet, 
For when I awake some good angel may find me 

A haven of rest for my wandering feet. 

Evyrr Allynn, 
The wild flowers now bloom o'er thy grave, 

By the side of the silent river ; 
The frost-king has fled from the hillside ; 
Rest in peace with the heavenly giver ! 
Evyrr Allynn ! Evyrr Allynn ! 

In all the wide world there is no one to cheer me ; 

Friendless and sad I wander alone ; 
I will turn from the world that has left me in sorrow, 

To the path that leads up to a happier home. 



284 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Far, far in the distance, above the bleak tree-tops, 
The white wings of angels gleam through the dark sky ; 

How kindly and sweetly they gaze on the outcast ; 
Their soft eyes will smile on the heath as I lie. 

Yes, this night with my child I will rest on the hillside, 

Nor shelter my form from the pitiless blast ; 
For an angel hath whispered, " Thy sins are forgiven, 

And thou shalt awaken in heaven at last." 
Thus, when the gray morning stole over the tree-tops, 

And o'er the dark mountains a ghastly light shed, 
It fell on two faces, that looked up to heaven ; 

Two forms from which the spirit had fled. 



OLD DOCTOR BONDS. 

My name is Doctor Bonds, — who are you ? 
They say I'm a leech ; that is true ; 
I've bled the country well since sixty-two ; 
I'm bound to have my gold, spite of you. 

So sings old Doctor Bonds, in his glee, 
And quaffs his brandy tod, taxes free, 
And bleeds the working-men, don't you see ? 
Takes two for one, and more, taxes free. 

Asleep fell Doctor Bonds in his chair, 
One Sunday summer day, sultry air ; 
He had a frightful dream — a nightmare, — 
As he slept, that summer day, in his chair. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 285 

He dreamed he was afloat on the sea, 
In a vessel made of bonds, taxes free ; 
Strange voices filled the air, wild with glee, 
Sang, " Sink old Doctor Bonds in the sea 



>? 



'Tis voices of the poor who pay tax ; 

We've worked for you too long, now " make tracks,'* 

We'll make you take your pay with a tax, 

The same you paid to us in greenbacks. 

We'll wake old Doctor Bonds with a song 
Of white men and their rights — mighty throng ; 
We'll shout, in Freedom's name, Right the wrong ! 
Make hill and vale resound, loud and long. 

Hark ! the echoes ring ; 

High the banner fling ; 
The banner of equal taxation ; 

Ten thousand garlands bring ; 

Myriad voices sing ; 
Columbia sees hope for the nation. 



STRIKE THE HARP IN NATURE'S PRAISE. 

O, the budding leaves of spring-time, 
With their lovely verdure bright 

Are filling the earth with beauty, 
And the soul with calm delight. 

Are filling the earth with beauty, 
And the soul with calm delight, 



286 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING, 

Then strike the harp in nature's praise, 
For all things bright and gay, 

For soon the autumn days will come, 
And the flowerets pass away. 

O, the roses come in summer, 

With their fragrance, sweet and rare, 

A glorious, bright new comer, 
Whose brilliance fills the air ; 

A glorious, bright new comer, 
Whose brilliance fills the air. 

Now the autumn days are near us, 
With the sere and yellow leaf ; 

But golden grains shall cheer us, 
And promise earth relief ; 

But golden grains shall cheer us, 
And promise earth relief. 

It is thus with fleeting hours, 
In the life of man on earth ; 

He comes like the spring-time flowers, 
And falls in autumn's dearth ; 

He comes like the spring-time flowers, 
And falls in autumn's dearth. 

But there is a land of beauty, 
Of wisdom, love, and truth, 

Where, in the path of duty, 
We shall live in endless youth ; 

Where in the path of duty, 
We shall live in endless youth. 



PUBLISHED SONGS. 287 

Then strike the harp in nature's praise, 

For all things bright and gay ! 
For, though the flowers of earth-land fade, 

We shall live in endless day ; 
For though the flowers of earth-land fade, 

We shall live in endless day. 



WAITING, ONLY WAITING. 

I AM waiting, only waiting, 

For the dawning of the day, 
When the joys of life relating, 
I shall walk the heavenly way ; 
Then no longer sadly waiting, 
I shall sound the joyful lay ; 
Then no longer sadly waiting, 
I shall sound the joyful lay. 

I am waiting, hoping, trusting, 

That the future fair and bright, 
Every wrong and ill adjusting, 
Shall announce the rule of right ; 
Then no longer sadly waiting, 
I shall see the joyful sight ; 
Then no longer sadly waiting, 
I shall see the joyful sight. 

I am waiting in the twilight 

Of a morning yet to be, 
When upon my fading eyesight 

Angel forms shall come to me ; 



288 POEMS OF A. B. WHITING. 

Then no longer sadly waiting, 
Heavenly glories I shall see ; 

Then no longer sadly waiting, 
Heavenly glories I shall see. 

Thus we all through life are waiting 

For the coming of the morn, 
When, life's pleasure reinstating, 
We shall be as angels born ; 
Then no longer sadly waiting, 

We shall hail the glorious dawn ; 
Then, no longer sadly waiting, 
We shall hail the glorious dawn. 



THE IDEAL AND THE REAL, 289 



THE IDEAL AND THE REAL. 

AN ABSTRACT OF A LECTURE DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
MARSHALL (MICHIGAN) LECTURE ASSOCIATION, BY 
A. B. WHITING, FEBRUARY 25, 1870. 

Webster defines the Ideal to be a conception of the 
mind proposed for imitation, realization, or attainment, 
while the Real is that which actually exists. 

It is the nature of man to aspire, to hope and strive 
for something better in the future for himself, and for 
those who come after him. He forms an ideal of that 
good which he desires, and labors earnestly to attain it. 
All improvements and inventions first exist in the human 
mind, in the mind of an idealist. 

The speaker referred at length to the ideal in art and 
mechanism, and drew a graphic picture of the idealist 
Galileo, as he bowed before the throne of the Sovereign 
Pontiff and tendered him the wonderful telescope he 
had invented, asking not honors, but mercy, and was 
hurried away to a dungeon ; while the Pope declared, 
by virtue of his infallibility, that the world was im- 
movable. 

The railway and the steam engine are very real to us, 
but a few years ago they had no existence, save as an 
ideal in the mind of man ; and when Stephenson first 
proposed to build a steam carriage to run on rails, and 
claimed that he could attain a speed of twenty miles 
19 



290 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

an hour, his friends said, " Don't ! nobody will believe 
it possible ; just say nine or ten miles an hour and we 
will try and help you." But when the engine was built 
it did run twenty miles an hour, to their great astonish- 
ment ; and now it seems very strange to us that its suc- 
cess should have been doubted. 

Franklin was an idealist, and his theories laughed at 
by the intensely practical men of his day, until he drew 
the lightning from the clouds to testify for him. After 
him came another idealist, Morse. His mind had con- 
ceived the possibility of making electricity the servant 
of man for the conveyance of thought. He asked Con- 
gress for aid to enable him to demonstrate his theory, 
but was met with sneers and gibes by the wiseacres of 
only twenty years ago ; and an honorable member, think- 
ing to kill the wild scheme at once and forever by turn- 
ing it into ridicule, proposed that one third of the sum 
appropriated be given to Father Miller, to aid in de- 
monstrating his theory of the end of the world, and 
another third to the investigation of the claims of the 
Book of Mormon. The name of this sapient legislator is 
preserved only in the columns of the Congressional 
Globe of that date, while that of Morse is known and 
honored wherever the click of the telegraph is heard. 

All men are, in some sense, idealists. We divide them 
into three classes, which we call the retrospective, the 
taciturn, and the progressive. The Retrospective Ideal- 
ist looks continually to the past, and is always mourn- 
ing for the good old days that will never return, and 
lamenting the degeneracy of the present. He looks at 
the past through a rose-colored lens, and sees only its 
beauties, while its evils are forgotten. This class of 
idealists has always existed. Macaulay tells us that the 



THE IDEAL AND THE REAL. 291 

ancient Saxons were wont to mourn the good old days 
of their fathers ; and Ossian sings of the heroes and 
bards of former times, and laments the decline of valor 
and of song. The province of this class of idealists is to 
preserve the records of the past, which might otherwise 
be lost. The Taciturn Idealist sees only the present, 
and if he said anything, it would be like this : " Life is, 
has been, and will be always the same." There is really 
neither advancement nor retrogression ; that which seems 
so is only the ebbing and flowing of waves, which ex- 
actly balance each other, and so the equilibrium is 
maintained. On the other hand, the Progressive Idealist 
says, Life, indeed, is a sea ; it has its ebb tides and its 
flood tides ; but every flood tide raises us a little higher 
than the preceding, while the ebb tide sinks not quite so 
low; and so goes on the grand march of ideas realized in 
the progress of civilization. 

The speaker then sketched, in brief, the progress of 
civilization from its birthplace in the far east until now, 
having swept over this continent, it is breaking down 
the barriers with which the inhabitants of the celestial 
empire were wont to exclude all outside barbarians. 
Having paid, in passing, an eloquent tribute to the great 
idealists who were the founders of our government, 
Mr. Whiting then proceeded to speak of the wild fan- 
cies of fanatics, or idealists run mad, classing among 
these those men who expected to reform the world in a 
day by the adoption of their pet hobby or belief ; those 
who thought they could invent perpetual motion ; and 
the man who said he could lift himself in a bushel 
basket, and excused his failure by the remark that he 
had done it a great many times, but was not as strong 
as he used to be. 



292 BIOGRAPHY OF A. B. WHITING. 

An idealist becomes a fanatic when he proposes to 
contravene natural law, known and capable of mathe- 
matical demonstration ; but outside the domain of pure 
mathematics it is not wise to pronounce the word im- 
possible ; for that which seems to us so to-day may in 
the light of to-morrow appear the most natural of 
events. When Stephenson told the British Parliament 
that a steam-engine could be made to travel twenty 
miles an hour, the wiseacres of his day, all the world, 
said, "It is impossible." When Morse proposed the 
telegraph, an enlightened American people said, "It is 
impossible." Even when it was first proposed to build a 
railroad from Boston to Albany, a member of the Massa- 
chusetts legislature, in a speech opposing the bill, said, 
" If it could be done it would never pay expenses, but it 
is a natural impossibility ." 

Nevertheless, railroads and telegraphs span the world 
with their network of power and intelligence, and, in 
the light of history, it behooves us to be careful how we 
pronounce anything impossible ; but when a new theory 
presents itself, we should investigate its claims, and give 
it a chance to demonstrate its truth. 

In conclusion, the speaker urged the necessity of a 
noble ideal as an incentive to the acquirement of knowl- 
edge and the practice of virtue. "We should not," 
said he, " become mere imitators, or try to make all think 
alike, to cast all minds in the same jnold, as has been the 
dream of some ; this is as absurd as the idea of Pro- 
crustes' making all men fit his iron bedstead. It is not 
exact similitude, but unity in diversity, which is the 
plan of nature. As the diverse portions of country, so 
widely different in soil, climate, and productions, go to 
make up our great composite nationality, and as we do 



THE IDEAL AND THE REAL. 293 

not strive to make all similar, and yield similar product*, 
but rather to develop the resources peculiar to each, so 
should we strive, not to move all minds in the same 
channel, but to each develop his own individuality by 
the culture of all that is noblest and best in himself. 
So shall each fill his own place, and so, in the great 
nationality of mind, shall be preserved that unity in 
diversity which is the gage of harmony and progress. 



